Maria Zhu

• 2025 Fall
  • ECN 495 Distinction Thesis Seminar in Economics I
  • ECN 751 Labor Economics I
• 2024 Fall
  • ECN 495 Distinction Thesis Seminar in Economics I
  • ECN 751 Labor Economics I
• 2024 Spring
  • ECN 496 Distinction Thesis Seminar in Economics II

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.

• Journal Articles
  • Zhu, M. B., "Beyond the "Old Boys' Network": Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges." Journal of Human Resources, 2025.
  • Gyetvai, A., Zhu, M. B., "Coworker Networks and the Role of Occupations in Job Finding." Labour Economics, 2025.
  • Zhu, M. B., "Differences in Teachers' Assessments of Students by English Learner Status." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2024.
  • Zhu, M. B., "New Evidence on the Underrepresentation of Asian Americans in Leadership Positions." Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2024.
  • Shi, Y., Zhu, M. B., ""Model Minorities" in the Classroom? Positive Evaluation Bias towards Asian Students and its Consequences." Journal of Public Economics, 2023.
  • Shi, Y., Zhu, M. B., "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.
• Policy Briefs
  • Deza, M., Zhu, M. B., "More Girls in the Classroom Improves Adolescent Mental Health." Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion & Population Health, 2025.
  • Shi, Y., Zhu, M. B., "Beyond the “Model Minority” Mirage: How Does Positive Bias Affect Asian Students and Other Students of Color?." Program on Educational Equity and Policy, 2023.

Federal Statistical Research Data Center Annual Research Conference, "Gender Differences in the Returns to a Double Major: A Case of Signaling?" (September 26, 2025)

NBER Summer Institute Children and Families, "More Girls, Fewer Blues: Peer Gender Ratios and Adolescent Mental Health" (July 24, 2025)

University of Duisburg-Essen, "More Girls, Fewer Blues: Peer Gender Ratios and Adolescent Mental Health" (July 9, 2025)

Society of Labor Economists Conference, "Asian College Students' Well-Being During a Period of Rising Anti-Asian Sentiment" (June 28, 2025)

San Diego State University, "More Girls, Fewer Blues: Peer Gender Ratios and Adolescent Mental Health" (May 1, 2025)

Gray Symposium, Clark University, "Gender Differences in the Returns to a Double Major: A Case of Signlaing?" (April 18, 2025)

International Conference on Empirical Economics , Pennsylvania State University Altoona, "New Findings on Racial Bias in Teachers’ Assessments of Students" (August 3, 2024)

Montana State University, "New Findings on Racial Bias in Teachers’ Assessments of Students" (April 5, 2024)

Hamilton College, "New Findings on Racial Bias in Teachers’ Assessments of Students" (March 29, 2024)

Center for Policy Research, Syracuse University, "New Findings on Racial Bias in Teachers’ Assessments of Students" (February 15, 2024)

ASSA Annual Meeting, "New Findings on Racial Bias in Teachers’ Assessments of Students" (January 5, 2024 - January 7, 2024)

Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting, "New Evidence on the Underrepresentation of Asian Americans in Leadership Positions" (November 23, 2023 - November 25, 2023)

Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting, "New Findings on Racial Bias in Teachers’ Assessments of Students" (November 23, 2023 - November 25, 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)

Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting, "Mitigating Racial Bias in Teachers' Assessments of Students" (November 19, 2022 - November 20, 2022)

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)

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

Thompson-Burkhead Award, Syracuse University (2022)

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)