Dr. Jiang has been an economics professor at VMI since 2013. She earned her Ph.D. degree at Emory University. Her doctoral research focused on studying individual choices in experimental settings and explored the role of personality in mediating economically relevant preferences (i.e., risk and time preferences) and behaviors (i.e., willingness to start a business). In her spare time, she enjoys reading, hiking, visiting museums and galleries, traveling, and exploring nature, different cultures, and cuisines.

Academic Interests: Dr. Jiang’s research interests are in Applied Microeconomics, with a primary focus on Behavioral and Experimental Economics. She believes Economics is an interdisciplinary study of human nature, institutional norms, and culture. Therefore, her work attempts to understand individual choices and highlights the importance of individual traits, emotions, identities, and institutional norms in explaining economic preferences, choices and behaviors. In recent years, she has become interested in studying philanthropic decision-making (i.e., blood donation, charitable giving and volunteering) and the effects of induced emotion and religious affiliation/participation in games, all of which provide useful implications for policy and practice.