My name is Tingting Zhang. I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
My research interest focuses on both industrial and employment relations. Within industrial relations, I focus on the role of social media communication in labor movements and union renewal. I am also working on how labor unions respond to workplace changes in the context of the future of work. In employment relations and human resource management, I am interested in various training and development mechanisms both within and outside organizations, such as occupational regulation and the emergence of non-degree credentials, shape individuals’ career outcomes, especially marginalized groups such as women and immigrants.
Selected Work
Co-authored Op-Ed on occupational regulation policy development in China
Published by the Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation, July 2021
Regulation has costs and benefits, and it is important to use the appropriate regulatory tool to accomplish the desired objective. Occupational licensing is the most stringent regulation and it should not be the default solution and should only be used if absolutely necessary.
Regulations should be designed to limit uncertainty and disruption in communication between workers and firms. Chinese policy makers recognized that employers in many cases were best positioned to evaluate the skills of prospective job seekers and could shoulder the responsibility of evaluating skills. In some cases, more stringent regulation was necessary, but not in all cases.
The regulatory framework should be appropriately constructed to rightly balance the need for consumer protection without imposing unnecessary costs.
Co-authored the section about Canadian occupational entry regulations (OER) metrics using the new OECD measure
Published by the Economics Department at the OECD, January 2020
► The average regulatory stringency is significantly lower in personal services than in professional services.
► Mobility restrictions are sometimes high even for professionals moving between states in the US, provinces in Canada, or countries in Europe. This is surprising given the various policy initiatives aimed at facilitating the movement of professionals within these economic areas.
► The regulatory variance of personal services amid European countries, US states, and Canadian provinces is wide, suggesting the need for better integration of services in all three economic areas.
► Occupational regulations typically take the form of licensing requirements, the most stringent form of regulations. Only very few countries, most of which are in Europe, allow for alternative schemes, including certification.