Meet Our 2025-2026 Job Market Candidates
Six outstanding PhD candidates are on the job market this year: Peiran Cheng, Diana Li, Shenghao Peng, Muhammad Shabanpour, Tianyi Tao, and Ziyao Wang. Their research spans education policy, public health programs, crime and public safety, financial markets, industrial organization, and development economics. Using cutting-edge methods and novel datasets, these emerging scholars are already making important contributions to their fields. In a challenging job market, we're proud to showcase their research.
Peiran Cheng:
Balancing Budgets, Limiting Access: The Impact of State Appropriation Cut on Public University Decisions
When state revenues fall during recessions, public universities face hard choices. Peiran Cheng's research reveals a troubling pattern: universities in states with strict balanced-budget requirements cut appropriations sharply during downturns, and those cuts translate directly into reduced enrollment, higher tuition, and a shift toward cheaper academic programs. Her findings show that budget rules designed to promote fiscal discipline may be limiting educational opportunity precisely when families need it most—raising important questions about how we fund public higher education in America.
Diana Li:
Welfare Analysis of WIC Subsidy Program in the Infant Formula Market
The WIC program serves nearly 7 million women and children, but is it designed as well as it could be? Diana Li's research on the infant formula market reveals that eligible families who join WIC could double their purchasing power—yet many don't participate. Her analysis shows that simply expanding the variety of formula brands covered by WIC could increase benefits to current participants by 17%. In a program that already works well, Li identifies concrete ways to make it work even better for the families who depend on it.
Shenghao Peng:
Evaluating the Impact of an Income Shock on Crime: Evidence from 2021 Child Tax Credit Expansion
When the 2021 Child Tax Credit expansion put cash directly into families' pockets, many hoped it would reduce crime in struggling communities. Shenghao Peng's research delivers a more nuanced answer: the payments had little impact on violent crime and only modest effects on property crime. His findings contribute to an important debate about whether cash transfers alone can address crime, or whether more comprehensive interventions are needed to improve public safety in disadvantaged areas.
Muhammad Shabanpour:
Consumer Similarity and Predictable Returns
What if your local Target's stock price could predict Walmart's future returns? Muhammad Shabanpour discovered that firms serving similar customers are connected in ways Wall Street overlooks. Using geospatial data tracking millions of consumer visits, he built a map of these "consumer networks" and found that investors consistently underreact to news about connected firms. His research reveals a persistent market inefficiency—and a trading strategy that exploits it, earning 6-7% annual abnormal returns.
Tianyi Tao:
How Does Consumer Price Sensitivity Shape Competition? Evidence from the Pet Food Industry
Walk into a pet supply store in an affluent suburb versus a working-class neighborhood, and you'll see different products at different prices. Tianyi Tao explains why: consumer price sensitivity doesn't just affect pricing—it fundamentally shapes which brands compete, how concentrated markets become, and whether stores stock national brands or cheaper private labels. Her findings have immediate implications for how regulators should think about retail mergers and competition policy.
Ziyao Wang:
Non-neutral Technological Change in Chinese Manufacturing
As China transformed from a state-controlled to market economy, which firms drove productivity growth—and how? Ziyao Wang's research reveals that technological change in Chinese manufacturing was highly uneven: labor productivity soared 12% annually while gains in capital and materials lagged far behind. Incumbent firms drove most innovation, while new entrants specialized in using capital more efficiently. Understanding these patterns helps explain China's remarkable economic transformation and offers lessons for other developing economies.
Learn More
For complete information about our job market candidates, including their CVs, job market papers, research statements, and contact information, visit our Job Market Candidates page.
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