I study stratification, demography, and well-being.
Hello there! I’m Yanwen Wang, a Postdoctoral Associate in the Division of Social Science at New York University Abu Dhabi.
My research focuses on stratification, demography, and well-being. One line of my work documents and explains trends in family formation and reproduction in Asia. Specifically, I have studied marital sorting patterns based on caste and race/ethnicity in Nepal. I have also documented the rising trend of voluntary childlessness among married couples in Singapore, contrasting this with the strengthening ties between marriage and fertility in China. My ongoing work focuses on mate selection driven by education and ideational factors.
A second line of research investigates how individuals and their families experience social stratification and inequality. I have examined the well-being implications of intergenerational mobility for both generations in China, as well as the subjective experiences of educational sorting in unions across European societies.
My work has been published in Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Advances in Life Course Research, Family Relations, and the Journal of Family and Economic Issues.
I earned my Ph.D. in Sociology from the National University of Singapore in 2025, under the mentorship of Dr. Zheng Mu. I also hold an M.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from Nanjing University.