Biography
Bo Zhao is a senior economist at the New England Public Policy Center in the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department. He specializes in public finance and urban and regional economics. Zhao earned his PhD in economics and his MS in applied statistics from Syracuse University. He has published extensively in academic journals such as Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, National Tax Journal, and Regional Science and Urban Economics. He has served on the editorial board of Public Budgeting & Finance since 2019. He joined the Boston Fed in 2005 and received the President's Award in 2013. He served on the Municipal Aid Subcommittee of the Massachusetts Municipal Finance Task Force from 2006 to 2007.
Work Experience
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Senior Economist, New England Public Policy Center, 2008–
Economist, New England Public Policy Center, 2005–2008
Syracuse University
Research Associate, Center for Policy Research, 2000–2005
Instructor, Summer 2003
Tutor, Stevenson Educational Center, 2000–2001
Teaching Assistant, 1999–2000
Education
PhD, Economics, the Maxwell School, Syracuse University, 2005
Paul Speranza Tax Policy Research Scholarship, 2002–2004
Maxwell Summer Fellowship, 2004
Center for Policy Research Summer Research Fellowship, 2002
MS, Applied Statistics, Syracuse University, 2002
BA, Economics (with distinction), Renmin University of China, 1997
Public Service
Editorial Board Member, Public Budgeting & Finance, 2019–present
Guest Co-editor, Public Finance and Management, Symposium on Fiscal Disparity and Equalization, 2013–2014
Judge for the APPAM Poster Session Award, APPAM Fall Research Conference, 2008
Ph. D. Dissertation Committee Member (Ph. D. Student: Timothy F. Page), Department of Economics, University of New Hampshire, 2007–2008
Referee: Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research; Eastern Economic Journal; Economic Inquiry; Education Finance and Policy; Journal of Housing Economics; Journal of Human Resources; Journal of Urban Affairs; Journal of Urban Economics; Municipal Finance Journal; National Tax Journal; Public Administration Review; Public Budgeting & Finance; Public Finance Review; Publius: The Journal of Federalism; Real Estate Economics; Regional Science and Urban Economics; Regional Studies; Scandinavian Journal of Economics; Sociological Inquiry; Sociological Quarterly; Southern Economic Journal
Primary fields of research
Urban and regional economics, public finance
Publications
Refereed journal articles
“How to Design a State Education Aid Formula Using a Regression-based Estimate of the Cost-capacity Gap: The Case of Connecticut, USA.” 2023. Journal of Education Finance 48(4): 349–378.
"Estimating the Cost Function of Connecticut Public K-12 Education: Implications for Inequity and Inadequacy in School Spending." 2023. Education Economics 31(4): 439–470.
"From Urban Core to Wealthy Towns: Nonschool Fiscal Disparities across Municipalities." 2018. Public Finance Review 46(3): 421–453.
"Walking a Tightrope: Are U.S. State and Local Governments on a Fiscally Sustainable Path?" with David Coyne. 2017. Public Budgeting and Finance 37(3): 3–23.
"Saving for a Rainy Day: Estimating the Needed Size of U.S. State Budget Stabilization Funds." 2016. Regional Science and Urban Economics 61: 130–152.
"Municipal Aid Evaluation and Reform." 2015. Municipal Finance Journal 36(1): 27–50.
"A More Equitable Approach to Cutting Intergovernmental Aid," with David Coyne. 2015. Public Finance Review 43(1): 32–52.
"The Fiscal Impact of Local-Option Taxes on Municipalities: The Case of Massachusetts." 2011. Municipal Finance Journal 31(4): 63–86.
"Measuring Non-School Fiscal Disparities among Municipalities," with Katharine Bradbury. 2009. National Tax Journal 62(1): 25–56.
"Designing State Aid Formulas," with Katharine Bradbury. 2009. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 28(2): 278–295.
"Do Lenders Discriminate Against Minority and Woman Entrepreneurs?" with Lloyd A. Blanchard and John Yinger. 2008. Journal of Urban Economics 63(2): 467–497.
"Why Do Real Estate Brokers Continue to Discriminate? Evidence from the 2000 Housing Discrimination Study," with Jan Ondrich, and John Yinger. 2006. Journal of Urban Economics 59(3): 394–419.
"Does the Number of Houses a Broker Shows Depend on a Homeseeker's Race?" 2005. Journal of Urban Economics 57(1): 128–147.
Book chapters
"Measuring Municipal Fiscal Disparities in Connecticut," with Jennifer Weiner in Connecticut Tax Panel Final Report Volume 2, eds. Robert Ebel and Michael Bell. 2015.
"Data Appendix," in The Color of Credit: Mortgage Discrimination, Research Methodology, and Fair-Lending Enforcement by Stephen L. Ross and John Yinger. 2002. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Bank publications
“Recent Trends in Vermont Childcare: A Decrease in Capacity, Increases in Cost and Quality, and Policy Responses,” with María J. Luengo-Prado. 2024. New England Public Policy Center Regional Briefs 24-5.
“The Impact of a Man-made Disaster on Consumer Credit Outcomes: Evidence from the 2018 Merrimack Valley Natural Gas Explosions.” 2023. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 23-17. https://doi.org/10.29412/res.wp.2023.17
“The Effects of Weather on Massachusetts Municipal Expenditures: Implications of Climate Change for Local Governments in New England.” 2022. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Research Reports No. 22-2.
“The Impact of Weather on Local Government Spending.” 2022. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 22-22. https://doi.org/10.29412/res.wp.2022.22
“Opting in with the Joneses: What Affects the Timing of Municipal Adoption of a Local-option Meals Tax?” 2021. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 21-14. https://doi.org/10.29412/res.wp.2021.14
“Reforming Connecticut’s Education Aid Formula to Achieve Equity and Adequacy across School Districts.” 2021. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Research Reports No. 21-1.
“How to Design a State Education Aid Formula That Is Equitable, Adequate, and Politically Feasible: The Case of Connecticut.” 2021. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 21-1. https://doi.org/10.29412/res.wp.2021.01
“Estimating the Cost Function of Connecticut Public K–12 Education: Implications for Inequity and Inadequacy in School Spending.” 2020. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 20-6.
“Measuring Disparities in Cost and Spending across Connecticut School Districts,” with Nicholas Chiumenti. 2020. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Research Reports No. 20-2.
“Forecasting the New England States’ Tax Revenues in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic.” 2020. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Current Policy Perspectives. July 9, 2020.
“Consequences of State Disinvestment in Public Higher Education: Lessons for the New England States.” 2019. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Research Reports No. 19-1.
“State Disinvestment in Higher Education: The Impact on Public Research Universities’ Patent Applications.” 2019. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 19-2.
“Disinvesting in the Future? A Comprehensive Examination of the Effects of State Appropriations for Public Higher Education.” 2018. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 18-1.
"Transparency in State Debt Disclosure," with Wen Wang. 2017. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 17-10.
"Reintegrating the Ex-offender Population in the U.S. Labor Market: Lessons from the CORI Reform in Massachusetts," with Osborne Jackson and Riley Sullivan. 2017. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Research Reports No. 17-1.
"Does Changing Employers' Access to Criminal Histories Affect Ex-offenders' Recidivism? Evidence from the 2010‒2012 Massachusetts CORI Reform," with Osborne Jackson. 2016. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 16-31.
"The Effect of Changing Employers' Access to Criminal Histories on Ex-offenders' Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from the 2010‒2012 Massachusetts CORI Reform," with Osborne Jackson. 2016. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 16-30.
"Haves and Have-Nots: Municipal Fiscal Disparities in Connecticut," with Calvin Kuo. 2016. Communities & Banking Spring: 28–31.
"From Urban Core to Wealthy Towns: Nonschool Fiscal Disparities across Connecticut Municipalities," 2015. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 15-14.
"Achieving Greater Fiscal Stability: Guidance for the New England States," with Yolanda K. Kodrzycki. 2015. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Research Reports No. 15-2.
"Measuring Municipal Fiscal Disparities in Connecticut," with Jennifer Weiner. 2015. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Research Reports No. 15-1.
"Saving for a Rainy Day: Estimating the Appropriate Size of U.S. State Budget Stabilization Funds," 2014. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 14-12.
"The Role of Economic, Fiscal, and Financial Shocks in the Evolution of Public Sector Pension Funding," with Robert K. Triest. 2013. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 13-26.
"Walking a Tightrope: Are U.S. State and Local Governments on a Fiscally Sustainable Path?" with David Coyne. 2013. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 13-18.
"Making State Aid Cuts More Equitable," with David Coyne. 2012. Communities & Banking Spring: 24–26.
"A More Equitable Approach to Cutting State Aid," with David Coyne. 2011. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Policy Briefs No. 11-2.
"Designing Formulas for Distributing Reductions in State Aid," with David Coyne. 2011. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Working Papers No. 11-2.
"Municipal Aid Evaluation and Reform," 2011. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Working Papers No. 11-1.
"Making Municipal Aid Count: Mind the Gap!" with David J. Coyne. 2011. Communities & Banking Spring: 23–25.
"Reforming Municipal Aid in Massachusetts: The Case for a Gap-Based Formula," with David J. Coyne. 2010. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Policy Briefs No. 10-2.
"Does Springfield Receive Its Fair Share of Municipal Aid? Implications for Aid Formula Reform in Massachusetts," with Marques Benton, Lynn Browne, Prabal Chakrabarti, DeAnna Green, Ana Patricia Muñoz, and Richard Walker. 2010. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Working Papers No. 10-4.
"The Fiscal Impact of Potential Local-Option Taxes in Massachusetts." 2010. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Working Papers No. 10-2.
"Designing State Aid Formulas: The Case of a New Formula for Distributing Municipal Aid in Massachusetts," with Katharine Bradbury. 2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 08-2.
"Measuring Non-School Fiscal Imbalances of New England Municipalities," with Katharine Bradbury. 2007. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Policy Briefs No. 07-6.
"Measuring Disparities in Non-School Costs and Revenue Capacity among Massachusetts Cities and Towns," with Katharine Bradbury. 2007. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Research Department Working Papers No. 06-3 (revised May 2007).
"The Lack of Affordable Housing in New England: How Big a Problem? Why Is It Growing? What Are We Doing About It?" with Alicia Sasser and Darcy Rollins Saas. 2006. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center Working Papers No. 06-1.
Other
"Time for Massachusetts to Reform Obsolete, Unfair Local Aid Program," with Yolanda K. Kodrzycki. 2015. New Bedford Standard-Times. January 16.
"Symposium on Fiscal Disparity and Equalization: Introduction to Symposium," with Yonghong Wu. 2014. Public Finance and Management 14(4): 371–373.
"State Needs to Reform Local Aid Program," with Yolanda K. Kodrzycki. 2013. Boston Globe's The Podium. May 21.
"Reforming Municipal Aid in Massachusetts," with David J. Coyne. 2011. MassBenchmarks 13(2): 15–20.
"Do Credit Market Barriers Exist for Minority and Women Entrepreneurs?" with Lloyd A. Blanchard and John Yinger. 2005. Syracuse University Center for Policy Research Working Papers No. 74.
"Why Do Real Estate Brokers Continue to Discriminate? Evidence from the 2000 Housing Discrimination Study," with Jan Ondrich and John Yinger. 2005. Syracuse University Center for Policy Research Working Papers No. 67.
Select conference presentations
National Tax Association (NTA) Annual Conference, 2006, 2007, 2012–2017, 2019, 2020
Association for Education and Finance Policy (AEFP) Annual Conference, 2018, 2020
Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference, 2008, 2010–2012, 2014, 2016, 2017
Association for Budgeting and Financial Management (ABFM) Annual Conference, 2013–2015, 2017, 2019
Society of Labor Economics (SOLE) Annual Conference, 2017
ASSA Annual Conference, 2008, 2015
North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International (NARSC), 2015
Select seminar presentations
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016–2019
Clark University, 2016
FDIC, 2016
Select testimonies, briefings, and economic talks
New England Advisory Council, 2010–2020
Maine Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission, 2020
New Hampshire Senate and House Ways and Means and Finance Committees' Joint Economic and Fiscal Briefing, 2005, 2019
Massachusetts House and Senate Ways and Means Committees, Public Hearing on the State's Economy and Tax Revenue, 2018
Connecticut State Legislature's State and Local Tax Study Panel, 2015
Massachusetts House and Senate Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government,
Public hearing on H. 1828 “An Act Regarding Revenue Sharing with Cities and Towns,” 2015