Min Zhan
Associate Professor
Office location:317 SSW
Phone number:217-244-5252
Email: mzhan@uiuc.edu
Educational Background
Dr. Zhan received her bachelor’s degree in history from Peking University, China in 1991, and her PhD in social work from Washington University in St. Louis in 2001. She joined the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001.
Dr. Zhan’s research centers on identifying social policies and other factors associated with the long-term economic well-being of low-income families with children. Specifically, her research examines the impact of educational approaches, specifically in the forms of postsecondary education and financial management training, on the long-term economic well-being of low-income families. She also examines the role of asset development, an approach that aims to develop human capital and to promote economic security for low-income families through facilitating their financial asset accumulation.
Research and Practice Interests
Dr. Zhan’s research interests include human capital development for low-income families; savings and asset building for low-income families; financial literacy and financial education; and program evaluation.
Current Research
Dr. Zhan is currently working on or planning several projects, including: 1) evaluating the impact of financial management training for immigrants; 2) examining structural, household and individual factors that may influence asset accumulation among low-income families and 3) examining the dynamic relationship between financial capital and human capital development among low-income women with children.
Recent Publications
Zhan, M. (In press). Assets, human capital development, and economic mobility of single mothers. Families in Society.
Zhan. M. (2006). Assets, parental expectations and involvement, and children’s educational performance. Children and Youth Services Review, 28(8), 961-975.
Zhan, M., Anderson, S., & Scott, J. (2006). Financial knowledge of the low-income population: Effects of a financial education program. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, XXXIII(1), 53-74.
Zhan, M., & Pandey, S. (2004). Postsecondary education and economic well-being of single mothers and single fathers. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 66, 661-673.
Zhan, M., Sherraden, M., & Schreiner, M. (2004). Welfare recipiency and savings outcomes in Individual Development Accounts. Social Work Research, 28(3), 165-181.