Duan Zhang was recently awarded a prestigious Dissertation Research Grant from the Russell Sage Foundation. The grant is to support her dissertation research, which examines the impact of job loss on crime. For her research, Duan is working with restricted data in the University of Missouri Research Data Center. She will leverage mass-layoff and plant-closure events as plausibly exogenous unemployment shocks to individuals, allowing her to causally link job loss to crime.

Asked about the importance of receiving this award, Duan replied: “I feel honored and grateful to receive the RSF dissertation grant. It has boosted my motivation for my dissertation research.” She also indicated her appreciation for the faculty in the Department of Economics, who helped her refine her research ideas and provided “rigorous training and invaluable guidance.”

The full list of 2025 Russell Sage Foundation Dissertation Research Grant winners can be found here:

https://www.russellsage.org/news/fourth-annual-dissertation-research-grants-awarded