Jen-Chen Chao 趙振辰

Hi! I am a PhD student in the Department of Sociology at Harvard University and a Doctoral Trainee at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. I primarily use large-scale data and quantitative methods to study economic inequalities, with a focus on the roles of education, demographic changes, and the labor market. I also have a keen interest in understanding how social policies can mitigate inequalities. In my current project, I am studying how changes in the distributions and wage returns to different fields of study have shaped the gender wage gap among college-educated workers in the United States. My collaborative work examines the economic returns to “some college,” the mechanisms through which secondary schools contribute to socioeconomic achievement gaps, and the joint effects of educational attainment and family structure on trends in income inequality.

I began my academic journey at Yale Kindergarten in Tainan, Taiwan (not New Haven), and later earned both my B.A. and M.A. degrees in Sociology from National Taiwan University. A 20-year fan of the CTBC Brothers in CPBL and a Red Sox supporter since moving to Boston, I’ve also recently started following the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in NPB and the Kia Tigers in KBO.

You can find my CV here.

News

In August, I will be presenting at RC28 in LA and ASA in Chicago. Would love to meet and chat!