In this talk, Professor Emma Zang presents research on how a 2011 change to China’s Marriage Law affected property rights within households and impacted family well-being and behavior. Using national survey data and 1.5 million divorce court records, the studies compare households impacted by the law with those that were not. While much research focuses on broad gender inequality, this work looks closely at how property ownership within families affects women.

Professor Zang’s research explores the intersection of health, aging, family demography, and inequality in the U.S. and China. She investigates how family structures and policies—such as marriage laws, flexible work, and early-life experiences—influence inequality, gender dynamics, and later-life health. Her work has appeared in Nature Human Behaviour, American Journal of Sociology, Demography, JAMA Internal Medicine, and others, and has been supported by the National Institutes of Health. She is a Butler-Williams and IMPACT Faculty Scholar with the National Institute on Aging and a Next Generation Leader of the Committee of 100. Her honors include awards from the ASA, ISA, IPUMS, and the European Commission.