Wenchen Wang
Assistant Professor of Business Economics
Illinois Institute of Technology
Wenchen Wang is an Assistant Professor at Illinois Institute of Technology's Stuart School of Business. Her research focuses on labor economics and public policy, with particular interests in occupational licensing, job quality, and wage inequality. She uses applied econometric methods and original regulatory and survey data to examine how institutions and public policies shape workers' economic opportunities and well-being.
Research Areas
Labor Market Institutions & Regulation — Occupational Licensing
How occupational licensing requirements and regulatory governance shape workers' labor-market outcomes such as wages, employment, job quality, etc.
- PublicationThe Labor Market Effects of Occupational Licensing in the Public Sector (with Morris M. Kleiner)
- Working PaperBoard Governance of Occupational Licensing and Labor Market Outcomes in Eye Care Occupations
- Working PaperBeyond Wages: Occupational Licensing and Multidimensional Job Quality
- Working PaperMeasuring Licensing Stringency: New Evidence from a Comprehensive Dataset on Cosmetology Regulation (with Kihwan Bae and Morris M. Kleiner)
Worker Welfare — Job Quality
How workers define and experience job quality, identifying the workplace dimensions and institutional factors that shape overall job satisfaction and well-being.
- PublicationJob Quality Unpacked: Dimensions and Determinants (with Hyeri Choi and Lonnie Golden)
- Working PaperBeyond Wages: Occupational Licensing and Multidimensional Job Quality
- PublicationWhat Makes Work More Than Just a Living? Determinants of Employment Quality in Illinois (with Lonnie Golden, Hyeri Choi, Dylan Bellisle, Alison Dickson, and Robert Bruno)
Featured Interview
What makes a job good or bad? Researchers survey Illinoisans to find out