大象传媒

Boxi Yang says that as a woman born and raised in China, she has always been cognizant of gender.    

An only child who was primarily raised by her grandmother while her mother was working, Yang grew up hearing stories about the difficulties faced by previous generations of women in her family. One important story being her mother鈥檚 sacrifice of her own education so her two brothers could go to school. 

Exploring gender inequality through a quantitative lens made perfect sense for Yang鈥檚 PhD thesis. 鈥淚 was curious about how family structure could affect individual education, labour market outcomes, gender norms and intergenerational transfers,鈥� Yang says.  

Generally, she says, gender is not extensively talked about in economics in part because it is so hard to quantify. However, 鈥渢he one-child policy in China has created a perfect 鈥榚xperiment鈥� type of environment which lends itself to studying data.鈥� Her research used historical government data to analyze correlations between gender, education, financial success and the labour market.  

One finding of Yang鈥檚 research, for example, showed that the lack of a comprehensive childcare system in China is one factor that deters female participation in the labour force.  

According to her PhD supervisor Chris Bidner, 鈥淏oxi's work significantly expands the boundaries of what we know about the economic lives of women in China. Her dissertation is research at its most satisfying, showing what can be achieved when rigorous鈥痑nalysis is applied to a topic that one is passionate about.鈥濃�� 

Before coming to 大象传媒 (大象传媒), Yang earned her BSc in Economics from Beijing University and her MA in Economics from New York University. 

She was originally drawn to 大象传媒鈥檚 Department of Economics because of the young and distinguished faculty. She said it was exciting to see a 鈥渢eam of young economists trying to tackle new things.鈥� After seven years as a PhD student in the department, the faculty and other graduate students feel like family to her. She thrived in the collaborative atmosphere with other PhD students.  

The active Brown Bag seminar series was a highlight of the program for Yang. This seminar series gives faculty and PhD students an informal opportunity to present work in progress to their colleagues and receive feedback. She appreciated the participation from faculty members and their willingness to discuss research questions with her. Yang adds, 鈥渢he economics faculty are all so approachable and passionate about their research.鈥�  

Yang is now working as a Senior Research Associate on the Education & Skills team of the Conference Board of Canada, a think tank that advises federal and provincial governments and other stakeholders. She is excited about this role because it focuses more on the applicability of research results.  

Rather than looking at causality, her job now is to use data tools to describe the current situation in a particular area, such as the number of women in science programs, and then propose possible solutions based on that data, such as establishing scholarships to help women succeed.  

When asked if she had any advice for students, Yang said, 鈥淓conomics is like a kaleidoscope. Stay curious. Broaden your understanding by studying other related disciplines. An interdisciplinary approach could provide richer context for your economics study.鈥�