We are proud to announce that Zhi Li, a PhD candidate at the Center for Applied Social and Economic Research (CASER) at NYU Shanghai and the Department of Sociology at New York University, has been awarded the 2025 Robert D. Mare Graduate Student Paper Award by the American Sociological Association’s Section on Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility (IPM).

Formerly known as the IPM Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award and renamed in 2024 in honor of Robert D. Mare, this award is presented annually to the best graduate student paper—either presented at a professional conference or published during the calendar year preceding the ASA annual meetings. The award recognizes outstanding scholarly contributions to the study of social stratification, inequality, and mobility.

(IPM Chair, Fabian Pfeffer, presented the award to Zhi Li at the ASA Annual Meeting in Chicago, August 10, 2025)

Zhi Li’s award‑winning paper, “Educational Differences in Stock‑Linked Wealth Trajectories and Wealth Accumulation Across Generations,” adopts a cohort–life‑course perspective to examine how the rise of stock‑linked assets has amplified educational disparities in wealth across generations. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), the study reveals that college graduates increasingly benefit from stock‑linked wealth with age—advantages particularly pronounced among Baby Boomers and Generation X. In fact, stock‑linked wealth now surpasses housing wealth as the dominant contributor to the “college wealth premium,” especially among younger cohorts—highlighting the impact of financialization on wealth inequality.

In addition to this distinguished recognition, Zhi Li has received several competitive awards since 2024, including the NYU GSAS Dean’s Conference Fund (2024), a Travel Award from the International Chinese Sociological Association (2025), and the International Sociological Association (ISA)–RC28 Student Travel Award (2025).

We extend our warmest congratulations to Zhi Li on this outstanding achievement!

About the NYU Shanghai–Track Sociology PhD Program

In collaboration with the NYU Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS) and the NYU Department of Sociology, NYU Shanghai offers a distinctive Sociology PhD program. Students complete their coursework in New York before transitioning to NYU Shanghai, where they conduct doctoral research under the supervision of NYU Shanghai faculty, and graduate with an NYU degree. The program provides close mentorship, access to extensive NYU resources, a vibrant research environment through the Center for Applied Social and Economic Research (CASER), full financial support, as well as benefits such as international health insurance and travel funding. Learn more about the program here Sociology PhD Program | NYU Shanghai.