I am an applied microeconomist who studies empirical questions in household finance. My research lies at the intersection of economics and psychology, with a particular interest in understanding how consumers make financial decisions and how such decisions affect well-being and market outcomes. My research also explores how the financial decisions of households may be unintentionally influenced by features of the institutional environment that surrounds them.
Prior to joining UW–Madison, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. I also previously worked as an Economist in the Office of Research at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Publications
Kessler, Judd B., Katherine L. Milkman, and C. Yiwei Zhang. Forthcoming. “Getting the Rich and Powerful to Give.” Management Science. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2018.3142.
Classes Taught
- Course number: CS 301: Course title: Advanced Consumer Analytics
- Course number: CS 901: Course title: Graduate Seminar: Research Methods

Department
- Consumer Science
Degree Program
- PhD Human Ecology: Consumer Behavior and Family Economics
Affiliations
Education
- PhD, Applied Economics, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- BS, Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- BS, Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Contact
Office: 4208 Nancy Nicholas Hall
Phone: 608-263-2158
Email: cyzhang@wisc.edu
Websites: