Zosia Cooper

I’m interested in how people think about work and the economy in their everyday lives. Although much of the subject matter I work on fits under the umbrella of economic sociology, I often use theoretical tools from the study of organizations.

My dissertation focuses on Gen Z’s investment in financial markets. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, young people furnished with government stimulus checks drove an increase in retail investing and cryptocurrency sales. Studies have found that young people are more likely than other age cohorts to make risky moves on financial markets, such as trading frequently, investing in individual stocks rather than index funds, and owning highly volatile assets such as cryptocurrency and NFTs. Besides the availability of stimulus checks, what drives young people with few assets to risk them in financial markets? Why is it, as one analyst writes, that 18-25 year olds today are “the most investment-savvy generation?”

I’m also working with Dr. Amy Binder and Dr. Jeffrey Kidder to understand how and why libertarian political actors build institutions in academia. Drawing on new institutionalism and field theory, we argue that political organizations have worked to create a professional subculture of libertarian academics: not quite challengers, but not entirely embraced within their academic disciplines either.

You can access more information about my work and my CV at my personal website: zosiacooper.com