Yao Lu

Yao Lu

Research Interest

Internal migration in China and Chinese immigration; Youth unemployment and underemployment in China

Professor Lu’s research focuses on how demographic forces and inequality influence social and political processes in China. Her current work examines patterns and societal consequences of youth unemployment and underemployment in China.

Professor Lu’s recent publications on China include "Vertical Mismatch and Horizontal Mismatch: Causes and Consequences of Mismatch among Highly-Educated Workers in China,” Educational Research (in Chinese; 2023); “Selection and Description Bias in Protest Reporting by Government and News Media on Weibo,” China Quarterly (2023); “Parental Migration, Family Instability, and Psychosocial Well-being of Left-behind Children in China: Evidence from Sequence Analysis,” Child Development (2021); “Empowerment or Disintegration? Migration, Social Institutions, and Collective Action in Rural China,” American Journal of Sociology (2019); and “Organizational Structure and Collective Action: Lineage Networks, Semi-autonomous Civic Associations, and Collective Resistance in Rural China,” American Journal of Sociology (2017).