Zhipeng Zhou

Welcome! I am a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at Cornell University, advised by Prof. Kim Weeden. Prior to Cornell, I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Economic Sociology in 2018 from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and my Master’s degree in Sociology in 2021 from Fudan University.

My research examines how organizations negotiate, and families and individuals navigate, the changing nature of work that shapes economic inequality, career mobility, and job insecurity. I focus in particular on new work arrangements and non-standard employment relations.

One of my research projects revisits the relationship between employment precarity and earnings inequality and shows how this relationship has been embedded in institutional contexts amid China’s transition to a market economy. This work received the 2025 Best Graduate Student Paper Award from the Labor and Employment Relation Association (LERA) and the 2025 Robin M. Williams, Jr. Best Paper Award from the Department of Sociology, Cornell University.

My research has been supported by the East Asia Program (EAP), Cornell University. My previous work has been published in journals including Socius, Journal of Asian Economics, etc.

I would be glad to connect via email at zz334@cornell.edu.

news

January 2026	I’m delighted to share that a high school senior I mentored through a research project has been admitted to Yale University. It has been an engaging mentoring experience. I’m glad to see the student’s work recognized! 🎉
October 2025	I was selected as a member of the 2025–26 cohort of the NextGen Professors Program at Cornell University.
June 2025	My paper on employment precarity and earnings inequality in China received the 2025 Deans, Chairs, and Directors Council (DCDC) Best Student Paper Award from the Labor and Employment Relation Association (LERA).
May 2025	My paper on employment precarity and earnings inequality in China received the 2025 Robin M. Williams, Jr. Best Paper Award from the Department of Sociology at Cornell University.
September 2024	My research received the Lee Teng Hui Fellowship in World Affairs with East Asia Focus from the East Asia Program (EAP) at Cornell University. It will fund one semester of my Ph.D. study at Cornell University.