Zerong Wang is a Lecturer in Economics and a graduate adviser in the Master of International Business program at the School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics (ZUFE). He also heads the Teaching and Research Section in the Department of Digital Economy. His primary research fields are consumption and saving, household finance, digital finance, and applied microeconomics. He also maintains a secondary research interest in human capital and the economics of education.

His research examines how household resources, balance-sheet positions, digital financial technologies, and public policy shape consumption, saving, borrowing, portfolio choice, and economic welfare. One strand studies household finance in China, including the effects of digital inclusive finance on consumption, leverage, stock-market participation, and asset allocation. A current research agenda focuses on policies intended to stimulate consumption. It asks how temporary transfers, digital coupons, tax reductions, and purchase subsidies affect net additional spending; how prices, supply responses, and market structure distribute policy gains across households, firms, workers, and other market participants; and when the resulting social benefits exceed fiscal and administrative costs. Related work develops statistical measures for new consumption formats, business models, and scenarios in Zhejiang Province. Across these projects, he draws on household surveys, administrative records, regional panel data, and applied microeconometric methods.

His research has been published in Applied Economics Letters, Growth and Change, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, PLOS ONE, Frontiers in Marine Science, and peer-reviewed Chinese economics and education journals. His published work also covers digital finance and energy efficiency, migration and land transfer, cultural integration, public education services, and public-health preparedness. This broader portfolio reflects an interest in using microdata to study household behavior and policy-relevant economic change. For international audiences, his current research is organized primarily around household consumption and finance.

Wang is principal investigator of the 2026 Zhejiang Provincial Statistical Science Research Program project, “Developing a Statistical Monitoring Indicator System for New Consumption Formats, Business Models, and Scenarios in Zhejiang Province.” He has also served on research teams for projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Social Science Fund of China, and the Ministry of Education of China. His policy-related experience includes a faculty secondment to the Economic Development Division of the Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Market Regulation beginning in July 2026.

He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the Research Institute of Economics and Management at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in 2021 and his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the same university in 2012. He joined ZUFE in 2022 and was an Assistant Research Fellow at the PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University, in 2023. He teaches bilingual Microeconomics, Intermediate Econometrics, Applied Econometrics with Stata, Topics in International Trade, Topics in Digital Trade, and Empirical Research and Academic Writing in Economics. He serves as an editorial board member of Review of Economic Assessment and as an ad hoc referee for journals in applied economics, education, sustainability, and regional studies. He welcomes inquiries from master’s students interested in digital finance, household finance, household consumption, and applied microeconomic research.

Research interests

Consumption and Saving; Household Finance; Digital Finance; Applied Microeconomics

Education

· Ph.D. in Economics, Research Institute of Economics and Management, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, 2021.

· Graduate Studies in Economics, School of Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, 2012–2014. [Include only if a separate record is required.]

· B.Econ. in Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, 2012.

Academic and professional appointments

· Lecturer in Economics, School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, April 2022–present.

· Head, Teaching and Research Section, Department of Digital Economy, School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics.

· Faculty Secondment, Economic Development Division, Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Market Regulation, July 2026–present.

· Assistant Research Fellow, PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University, February–August 2023.

Teaching

Selected research grants

· Zhejiang Provincial Statistical Science Research Program, Priority Project, “Developing a Statistical Monitoring Indicator System for New Consumption Formats, Business Models, and Scenarios in Zhejiang Province,” Principal Investigator, 2026.

· Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Doctoral Research Project, “Do Migrants Raise Housing Prices?” Principal Investigator, 2015.

Selected collaborative projects

· National Natural Science Foundation of China, General Program, “Joint Fertility and Education Decisions of Chinese Households: Microeconomic Mechanisms and Macroeconomic Effects,” Research Team Member, 2023.

· National Social Science Fund of China, Major Program, “Development of the China Household Finance Database and Research on Household Financial Behavior,” Research Team Member, 2014.

· Ministry of Education of China, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Program, “The Digital Economy, Heterogeneous Skills, and Labor-Income Inequality,” Research Team Member, 2023.

Teaching and curriculum development

· Zhejiang Provincial Graduate Education Reform Project, “Reforming the Econometrics Curriculum under an Integrated Research-and-Learning Model,” Principal Investigator, 2022.

Publications

Use reverse chronological order, italicize journal titles, bold your name if the editor supports it, and omit SSCI/CSSCI and author-order labels. Chinese-language articles should be marked [In Chinese].

1. Ding, Song, Huiyun Zheng, and Zerong Wang. 2025. “Digital Intelligence and Equalization of Basic Public Education Services: Effects and Mechanisms.” Education & Economy 41(6): 53–65, 85. [In Chinese]

2. Zhu, Haicheng, Xingyu Qi, Minghao Xu, Jian Su, and Zerong Wang. 2025. “Digital Finance, Industrial Structure Upgrading, and Energy Efficiency in China: A Provincial-Level Empirical Analysis.” Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 12: 1259. DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-05649-3

3. Wang, Zerong, Zhijian Cai, and Yao Li. 2025. “Prediction and Analysis of China’s Coastal Marine Economy: An Innovative Grey Model with the Best-Matching Data-Preprocessing Techniques.” Frontiers in Marine Science 12: 1551352. DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1551352

4. Wang, Zerong, Jiaxin Fei, and Jie Han. 2025. “How Does Occupational Prestige of Migrant Workers Affect Farmland Transfer in China?” PLOS ONE 20(5): e0319468. [Wang and Fei contributed equally.] DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0319468

5. Wang, Jiancheng, Donghao Zhang, and Zerong Wang. 2023. “Digital Finance, Stock Market Participation and Asset Allocation of Chinese Households.” Applied Economics Letters 30(14): 1870–1873. DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2022.2083556

6. Guo, Jihui, and Zerong Wang. 2022. “Can the Development of Digital Inclusive Finance Promote Household Consumption? Evidence from the China Household Finance Survey.” Journal of Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, no. 4: 22–31. [In Chinese; title translated]

7. Wang, Zerong, and Guochang Zhao. 2022. “Cultural Integration among Non-Han Migrants in Urban China: To What Extent Does Intermarriage Matter?” Growth and Change 53(4): 1490–1512. DOI: 10.1111/grow.12500

8. Wang, Zerong, Donghao Zhang, and Jiancheng Wang. 2022. “How Does Digital Finance Impact the Leverage of Chinese Households?” Applied Economics Letters 29(6): 555–558. DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2021.1875118

9. Wang, Zerong. 2022. “The Influence of Ethnic Identity on the Academic Performance of Chinese College Students: An Empirical Study Based on the Administrative Data of a University.” Review of Economic Assessment 1(1): 1–21. DOI: 10.58567/rea01010001

10. Wang, Zerong, Hongli Zhang, Chun Dong, and Zhilong Qin. 2021. “Medical Resource Reserve and the Effectiveness of COVID-19 Prevention and Control in China: Based on the Perspective of Health Production Function.” Finance & Economics, no. 2: 71–83. [In Chinese]

Professional service

· Editorial Board Member, Review of Economic Assessment.

· Member, Zhejiang Society for Quantitative Economics.

· Council Member, Employment Promotion Committee, China Association of Labor Economics.

· Council Member, Hubei Population Association.

· Ad hoc referee for Applied Economics Letters; Growth and Change; China & World Economy; Education Economics; Economic Modelling; Social Indicators Research; Journal of Asian Economics; Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment; Journal of Cleaner Production; Sustainable Development; Innovation and Green Development; Education & Economy; and Journal of Guizhou University of Finance and Economics.

Honors

· Outstanding Faculty/Staff Member, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, 2026.

· Outstanding Research Achievement Award, Guangdong Social Sciences Annual Conference, 2022.

The 2025 Outstanding CPC Member award can remain on the Chinese profile or full CV, but it is not useful on the independent English homepage.

Graduate supervision

I welcome inquiries from prospective master’s students interested in digital finance, household finance, household consumption, and applied microeconomics. Applicants should have strong training in economics and quantitative methods and a serious interest in empirical research. Please email a curriculum vitae, transcripts, a brief statement of research interests, and a writing sample, if available, to wongzerong@zufe.edu.cn.

· Contracted Research Project, “Applications and Economic Effects of Intelligent Manufacturing Technologies in Building-Materials Production,” Principal Investigator, 2024. [Do not publish until the sponsor and official project status are verified.]

· Research Project on the Economic Effects of Population Decline in Changshan County, Quzhou, Research Team Member, 2024.

· Peking University Guanghua School of Management, Chinese Enterprise Innovation and Entrepreneurship Survey, Research Team Member, 2023.

· Jindong District Finance Bureau, “Fiscal Policy and Urban–Rural Educational Equalization in the Context of Common Prosperity: Pathways and Policy Options,” Research Team Member, 2022.

· Student supervision: First Prize, 19th ZUFE “Challenge Cup” Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition, 2025, for a randomized-intervention study of digital inclusion among older adults in nine counties across four Zhejiang cities.

· Student supervision: Encouragement Award, ZUFE “Jinglun Cup” Academic Works Competition, 2024, for a study on bridging the digital divide among older adults.

· Student supervision: Third Prize, Cross-Strait Youth Digital Economy Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, 2023, for a digital cultural-tourism project in Xinfeng Village.

· Student supervision: Second Prize, ZUFE Outstanding Summer Social Practice Research Report, 2024, for a study on digital inclusion among older adults.

· Student supervision: Outstanding Practice Team, Hangzhou Daily Summer College Student Social Practice Challenge, 2024.

· Student supervision: Third Prize, ZUFE selection round of the 13th “CP Cup” National College Student Market Survey and Analysis Competition, 2023, for a survey of the Smart Asian Games and residents’ sports behavior.