Maria Zhu

• 2024 Spring
  • ECN 496 Distinction Thesis Seminar in Economics II
• 2023 Fall
  • ECN 495 Distinction Thesis Seminar in Economics I
  • ECN 751 Labor Economics I
• 2023 Spring
  • ECN 496 Distinction Thesis Seminar in Economics II
  • ECN 310 Special Topics In Economics - Economics of Education
• 2022 Fall
  • ECN 495 Distinction Thesis Seminar in Economics I
  • ECN 310 Special Topics In Economics - Economics of Education
• 2022 Spring
  • ECN 752 Labor Economics II
  • ECN 310 Special Topics In Economics - Economics of Education

Maria Zhu is an assistant professor in the Department of Economics and a senior research associate in the Center for Policy Research.

Her research interests include labor economics and the economics of education. She has worked on projects looking at affirmative action, social networks in the labor market, and instructor quality in higher education. Prior to completing a Ph.D., she studied mathematics and economics at Pomona College. Zhu received a Ph.D. in economics from Duke University in 2019.

Zhu was awarded the Ralph E. Montonna Endowed Fund for the Teaching and Education of Undergraduates for 2023-24 academic year.

"What are the patterns of absenteeism and which types matter for other student outcomes?", Sponsored by Center for Policy Research Small Grant.

"The Effect of 9/11 on Arab-American Name Americanization", Sponsored by Appleby-Mosher Fund for Faculty Research.

"The Prevalence and Consequences of Positive Stereotyping: The Case of Asian-Americans", Sponsored by Appleby-Mosher Fund for Faculty Research.

• Journal Articles
  • Zhu, M. B., Shi, Y., ""Model Minorities" in the Classroom? Positive Evaluation Bias towards Asian Students and its Consequences." Journal of Public Economics, 2023.
  • Zhu, M. B., Shi, Y., "Equal Time for Equal Crime? Racial Bias in School Discipline." Economics of Education Review, 2022.
  • Zhu, M. B., "Limited Contracts, Limited Quality? Effects of Adjunct Instructors on Teaching Outcomes in Higher Education." Economics of Education Review, 2021.
  • Zhu, M. B., Jaeger, D. A., Arellano-Bover, J., Karbownik, K., Martinez-Matute, M., Nunley, J. and Seals, R. A., "The Global COVID-19 Student Survey: First Wave Results." Covid Economics, Vetted and Real-Time Papers, 2021.
  • Zhu, M. B., Arcidiacono, P. and Lovenheim, M., "Affirmative Action in Undergraduate Education." Annual Review of Economics, 2015.

Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting, "New Evidence on the Underrepresentation of Asian Americans in Leadership Positions" (November 23, 2024 - November 25, 2024)

Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting, "New Findings on Racial Bias in Teachers’ Assessments of Students" (November 23, 2024 - November 25, 2024)

Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting, "Mitigating Racial Bias in Teachers' Assessments of Students" (November 19, 2023 - November 20, 2023)

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, "New Findings on Racial Bias in Teachers’ Assessments of Students”" (November 7, 2023)

Binghamton University, "New Findings on Racial Bias in Teachers’ Assessments of Students”" (November 3, 2023)

Workshop on Human Capital Formation over the Life Cycle, University of Rochester, "New Findings on Racial Bias in Teachers’ Assessments of Students" (October 5, 2023 - October 6, 2023)

Federal Trade Commission, "New Evidence on the Underrepresentation of Asian Americans in Leadership Positions" (June 22, 2023)

Society of Labor Economists Conference, "Model Minorities in the Classroom? Positive Evaluation Bias towards Asian Students and its Consequences" (May 14, 2023 - May 15, 2023)

Pomona College, "New Evidence on the Underrepresentation of Asian Americans in Leadership Positions" (April 27, 2023)

University at Buffalo, "New Evidence on the Underrepresentation of Asian Americans in Leadership Positions" (April 7, 2023)

Hamilton College, "New Evidence on the Underrepresentation of Asian Americans in Leadership Positions" (March 3, 2023)

ASSA Annual Meeting, "Mitigating Racial Bias in Teachers' Assessments of Students" (January 6, 2023 - January 8, 2023)

Agglomeration and Social Networks Research Lab, "Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges”" (October 13, 2022)

Northeastern Economics of Education Workshop, "Mitigating Racial Bias in Teachers' Assessments of Students”" (October 7, 2022)

Banff Empirical Microeconomics Conference, "Mitigating Racial Bias in Teachers' Assessments of Students" (August 19, 2022 - August 20, 2022)

Institute for Research on Poverty Summer Research Workshop, "Mitigating Racial Bias in Teachers' Assessments of Students" (June 13, 2022 - June 16, 2022)

Daniel Patrick Moynihan Syracuse-Cornell Summer Workshop in Education and Social Policy, "Mitigating Racial Bias in Teachers' Assessments of Students" (May 25, 2022)

NBER Working Group on Race and Stratification, "Model Minorities in the Classroom? Positive Evaluation Bias towards Asian Students and its Consequences" (April 8, 2022)

Association for Education Finance and Policy Conference, "Mitigating Racial Bias in Teachers' Assessments of Students" (March 17, 2022 - March 19, 2022)

Southern Economic Association Meeting, "Equal Time for Equal Crime? Racial Bias in School Discipline" (November 20, 2021 - November 22, 2021)

University of North Carolina at Greensboro, "Model Minorities in the Classroom? Positive Evaluation Bias towards Asian Students and its Consequences”" (October 8, 2021)

Georgia State University, "Model Minorities in the Classroom? Positive Evaluation Bias towards Asian Students and its Consequences”" (October 1, 2021)

IZA Economics of Education Workshop, "Model Minorities in the Classroom? Positive Evaluation Bias towards Asian Students and its Consequences”" (September 22, 2021 - September 24, 2021)

Miami University, "Model Minorities in the Classroom? Positive Evaluation Bias towards Asian Students and its Consequences”" (March 26, 2021)

Pennsylvania State University, "Model Minorities in the Classroom? Positive Evaluation Bias towards Asian Students and its Consequences”" (March 19, 2021)

Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting, "Limited Contracts, Limited Quality? Effects of Adjunct Instructors on Teaching Outcomes in Higher Education" (November 21, 2020 - November 23, 2020)

Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management Research Conference, "Model Minorities in the Classroom? Positive Evaluation Bias towards Asian Students and its Consequences" (November 11, 2020 - November 13, 2020)

Northeast Labor Symposium for Early Career Economists, "Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges" (April 3, 2020)

Association for Education Finance and Policy Conference, "Limited Contracts, Limited Quality? Effects of Adjunct Instructors on Teaching Outcomes in Higher Education" (March 19, 2020 - March 21, 2020)

New York University, "Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges" (March 2, 2020)

University of Rochester, "Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges" (October 29, 2019)

Cornell University, "Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges" (September 23, 2019)

Daniel Patrick Moynihan Syracuse-Cornell Summer Workshop in Education and Social Policy (2019)

Society of Labor Economists Conference (2019)

Johns Hopkins University, "Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges" (2019)

Institute for Defense Analysis, "Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges" (2019)

US Census Bureau, "Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges" (2019)

University of Nebraska, "Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges" (2019)

Vanderbilt University, "Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges" (2019)

Syracuse University, "Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges" (2019)

Triangle Applied Microeconomics Conference (2019)

Ralph E. Montonna Endowed Fund for the Teaching and Education of Undergraduates (2023 - 2024)

Certificate in College Teaching, Duke University (2019)

Best Poster Award, Society of Labor Economists Conference (2017)

Education and Human Development Scholars Fellowship, Duke Social Science Research Institute (2015 - 2017)

James B. Duke Fellowship, Duke University (2013 - 2017)