I am a postdoctoral associate in Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University.  Before Cornell, I obtained my doctorate degree in sociology at Harvard University.  Beginning Fall 2023, I will be joining the University of Hong Kong (HKU) as an assistant professor of sociology. 

I am a social/political demographer who explores patterns, causes, and consequences of the low fertility in developed societies.   Under this overarching topic, my current research explores three themes:  (1) Whether and how does the "radius of trust" matter for fertility?  (2) Is the "left-right political fertility gap" indeed the case in advanced industrial democracies, as SOME politicians and commentators are putting it?  (3) Do sustained low fertility and population aging retard economic growth?  If so, does the decline in "economic dynamism" (e.g., declining technological innovations and entrepreneurship) mediates the two phenomena? 

My dissertation, The Normative Foundations of Postindustrial Fertility Variation, explored the sources of variation in fertility levels across postindustrial countries.  Questions that I addressed in my dissertation include (1) whether and how individuals' views and perceptions towards childbearing are shaped by the normative context that valorizes the desirable roles of men and women, and (2) how people's gender ideologies and visions of family life have co-evolved in postindustrial societies. 

My previous projects attempted to explain diverging fertility trends in postindustrial regions of Europe since the 1990s (Population and Development Review) and analyze cross-national trends in college-educated women's educational hypogamy (Demography). 

I am a cinemaphile and am an avid fan of Wong Kar-wai, David Fincher, Park Chan-wook, and Cate Blanchett.