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.
Selected Publications
Zhang, C. Y., Hemmeter, J., Kessler, J. B., Metcalfe, R. D., & Weathers, R. (2023). Nudging Timely Wage Reporting: Field Experimental Evidence from the United States Supplemental Security Income Program. Management Science, 69(3), 1341-1353. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4645
Zhang, C. Y., Sussman, A. B., Wang-Ly, N., & Lyu, J. K. (2022). How Consumers Budget. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 204(December 2022), 69-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2022.09.025
Kessler, J. B., Milkman, K. L., & Zhang, C. Y. (2019). Getting the Rich and Powerful to Give. Management Science, 65(9), 3949-4450. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2018.3142
For a full list of publications, see Zhang’s CV.

Department
- Consumer Science
Degree Program
- PhD Human Ecology: Consumer Behavior & 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: