Contact Information:
Address: 600 Atlantic Ave, T-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Boston, MA 02210
Phone: 617-973-3061 (office) | 617-619-8357 (fax)
Email: bo.zhao@bos.frb.org
Web page: http://www.bostonfed.org/economic/econbios/zhao.htm
Ph.D., Economics, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University, May 2005
Adviser: John Yinger
M.S., Applied Statistics, Syracuse University, August 2002
Graduate Education, Economics, Renmin University of China, 1997—1999
B.A., Economics, Renmin University of China, with honor, 1997
Fields of Specialization:
Public Finance, Urban and Regional Economics
Work Experience:
Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, April 2008—
Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, May 2005—March 2008
Research Associate, Center for Policy Research, Syracuse University, August 2000—May 2005
Instructor, taught Introductory Microeconomics, Syracuse University, June—August 2003
Tutor, Stevenson Educational Center, Syracuse University, 2001
Teaching Assistant, Department of Economics, Syracuse University, August 1999—May 2000
Professional Service:
Referee: National Tax Journal, Journal of Urban Economics, Regional
Science and Urban Economics, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Public Budgeting & Finance, Eastern Economic Journal, Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and
Research, Municipal Finance Journal
Technical adviser, Local aid task force of Massachusetts Executive Office of Administration and Finance, 2011
Editorial board member, Communities & Banking magazine, June 2008—June 2009
Judge for the APPAM Poster Session Award, APPAM Annual Research Conference, 2008
Ph. D. dissertation committee member, advised Timothy F. Page, Department of Economics, University of New Hampshire, 2007—2008
Judge, College Fed Challenge Competition and High School Fed Challenge Competition, 2007—2009
Technical adviser, Municipal Aid Subcommittee of the Municipal Finance Task Force, 2006—2007
Articles Published in Refereed Journals:
Bo Zhao. 2011. "The Fiscal Impact of Local-Option Taxes on Municipalities: The Case of Massachusetts," Municipal Finance Journal 31(4): 63-86.
Bo Zhao and
Katharine Bradbury. 2009. “Designing State Aid Formulas,” Journal of Policy Analysis and
Management 28(2): 278-295.
Katharine Bradbury and Bo Zhao. 2009. “Measuring Non-School Fiscal Disparities among Municipalities,” National Tax Journal 62(1): 25-56.
Lloyd A. Blanchard, Bo Zhao, and John Yinger. 2008. “Do Lenders Discriminate Against Minority and Woman Entrepreneurs?” Journal of Urban Economics 63(2): 467-497.
Bo Zhao, Jan Ondrich, and John Yinger. 2006. “Why Do Real Estate Brokers Continue to Discriminate? Evidence from the 2000 Housing Discrimination Study,” Journal of Urban Economics 59(3): 394-419.
Bo Zhao. 2005. “Does the Number of Houses a Broker Shows Depend on a Homeseeker’s Race?” Journal of Urban Economics 57(1): 128-147.
Papers at the Revise and Resubmit Stage:
Book Chapters:
"Data Appendix," in The Color of Credit: Mortgage Discrimination, Research Methodology, and Fair-Lending Enforcement by Stephen L. Ross and John Yinger, pp. 387-388, The MIT Press, 2002.
“Why Do Real Estate Brokers Continue to Discriminate? Evidence from the 2000 Housing Discrimination Study,” with Jan Ondrich and John Yinger, in Why Housing Agents Discriminate: The Measurement, Causes, and Consequences of Housing Discrimination and Housing and Commuting: The Theory of Urban Residential Structure, ebooks by John Yinger.
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Publications:
"Making Cuts in State Aid More Equitable" with David Coyne,Communities & Banking magazine, Spring issue, pp. 24-26, 2012.
“A More Equitable Approach to Cutting State Aid" with David Coyne, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston NEPPC Policy Brief no. 11-2, 2011.
“Designing Formulas for Distributing Reductions in State Aid" with David Coyne, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston NEPPC Working Paper Series no. 11-2, 2011.
“Municipal Aid Evaluation and Reform," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston NEPPC Working Paper Series no. 11-1, 2011.
"Making Municipal Aid Count: Mind the Gap!" With David J. Coyne, Communities & Banking magazine, Spring issue, pp. 23-25, 2011.
"Reforming Municipal Aid in Massachusetts: The Case for a Gap-Based Formula" with David J. Coyne, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston NEPPC Policy
Brief Series no. 10-2, 2010.
"Does Springfield Receive Its Fair Share of Municipal Aid? Implications for Aid Formula Reform in Massachusetts," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston NEPPC Working Paper Series no. 10-4, 2010.
“The Fiscal Impact of Potential Local-Option Taxes in Massachusetts,” Federal Reserve Bank of Boston NEPPC Working Paper Series no. 10-2, 2010.
“The Impact of Recent Credit Market Turmoil on New England State Housing Finance Agencies,” Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2009.
“Designing State Aid Formulas: The Case of a New Formula for Distributing Municipal Aid in Massachusetts,” with Katharine Bradbury, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Working Paper Series no. 08-1, 2008.
“Measuring Non-School Fiscal Imbalances of New England Municipalities,” with Katharine Bradbury, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston NEPPC Policy Brief Series no. 07-6, 2007.
“Measuring Disparities in Non-School Costs and Revenue Capacity among Massachusetts Cities and Towns,” with Katharine Bradbury, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Working Paper Series no. 06-19, 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 Saas, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston NEPPC Working Paper Series no. 06-1, 2006.
Other Publications and Papers:
"Reforming Municipal Aid in Massachusetts," with David J. Coyne, MassBenchmarks Volume 13, Issue 2, PP. 15-20, 2011.
“Do Credit
Market Barriers Exist for Minority and Women Entrepreneurs?” with
Lloyd A. Blanchard and John Yinger, Center for Policy Research Working Paper
Series no. 74, Syracuse University, 2005.
“Why Do Real
Estate Brokers Continue to Discriminate? Evidence from the 2000 Housing
Discrimination Study,” with Jan Ondrich and John Yinger, Center for
Policy Research Working Paper Series no. 67, Syracuse University, 2005.
Work in Progress:
"The Fiscal Sustainability of State and Local Governments" with David Coyne
"Do Public Pensions Risk Bankrupting the State and Local Government Sector?" with John Carlson, Paula Tkac, and Robert Triest
Conference Activities:
Presenter, Federation of Tax Administration Revenue Estimation & Tax Research Conference, 2011-2012 (scheduled)
Discussant, National Tax Association Annual
Conference, 2006, 2008-2011
Presenter, APPAM Annual Research Conference, 2008, 2011
Presenter, Federal Reserve System Committee on Applied
Microeconomics Annual Conference, 2007, 2011
Discussant, APPAM Annual Research Conference, 2008, 2010
Chair, "Property Tax Administration and Property Tax Data" session, National Tax Association Annual Conference, 2008
Discussant, AEA Annual Meeting, 2008
Discussant, Federal Reserve System Committee on Applied Microeconomics Annual Conference, 2008
Presenter, International Seminar on Measuring Fiscal
Health of Cities, organized by the World Bank Institute and National Institute
of Public Finance and Policy (India), Washington DC, 2008
Presenter, National Tax Association Annual Conference, 2006, 2007
Discussant, Federal Reserve System Committee on Regional Analysis Annual Conference, 2007
Organizer and presenter, "Financing Municipalities in New England: Revisiting the State-Local Relationship," New England Public Policy Center Annual Conference, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2007
Invited Seminars:
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012 (scheduled)
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 2011
Beacon Hill Institute, Suffolk University, 2010
University of New Hampshire, 2009
Harvard University, Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, 2007
Northern Illinois University, 2005
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, 2005
Freddie Mac, 2005
Grand Valley State University, 2005
Alfred University, 2005
Public Speeches and Briefings:
Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Boston, 2012
New England Advisory Council, 2010-2012
Eastern States Legislative Fiscal Officers Association Conference, 2011
City of Boston Administration, MA, 2011
Metro Mayors’ Coalition, 2006, 2011
Collaboration and Leadership in Smaller Industrial Cities: A Forum on the Economic, Fiscal and Political Challenges and Opportunities Facing New England's Smaller Industrial Cities, 2011
Massachusetts State House, Local Aid Day, 2011
Municipal Aid Forum co-sponsored by Pioneer Valley Planning Commission & Franklin Regional Council of Governments, 2011
Chair of Massachusetts House Ways and Means Committee, 2011
City of New Bedford Administration, MA, 2010
House Chair of Massachusetts Gateway Cities Caucus, 2010
House Chair of Massachusetts Joint Committee on Revenue, 2010
Boston Municipal Research Bureau, 2010
Massachusetts Executive Office of Administration & Finance and Department of Revenue, 2010
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 2010
Massachusetts Association of Regional Planning Agencies, 2010
Jobs for Massachusetts Forum, 2010
UMass Dartmouth Urban Initiative, 2010
City of Brockton Administration, MA, 2010
Boston Redevelopment Authority, 2010
Massachusetts Annual Governor's Conference on Travel & Tourism, 2009
Environmental Business Council of New England, 2008
Community Development Advisory Council, 2008
Massachusetts Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration, 2008
Massachusetts Lodging Association’s Boston Outlook Conference, 2007
Fiscal Policy Committee and Revenue Sharing Task Force of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, 2006
Gordon College, 2006
New Hampshire House and Senate Ways and Means and Finance Committees, Joint Economic Briefing, 2005
Media Coverage:
South Coast Today (March 3, 2011; December 21, 2011)
WFCR & WNNZ New England Public Radio (January 13, 2011; December 6, 2011)
Worcester Telegram (July 14, 2011)
Middleboro Gazette (March 17, 2011)
Boston Globe (March 28, 2009; July 16, 2010; November 28, 2010; March 2, 2011)
Boston Herald (March 28, 2009; July 15, 2010; March 2, 2011)
State House News Service (July 16, 2010; March 2, 2011)
Springfield Republican (July 15, 2010; March 2, 2011)
Taunton Daily Gazette (March 2, 2011)
Worcester Magazine (January 27, 2011)
WAMC Northeast Public Radio (January 14, 2011)
WWLP-TV 22 Springfield (August 3, 2010)
Greenfield Recorder (July 23, 2010)
WBZ Radio Boston (July 16, 2010)
WBUR Radio Boston (July 15, 2010)
Ledger Dispatch (October 9, 2008)
Cape Cod Times (February 27, 2008)
Utica Observer Dispatch (February 16, 2008)
Business Wire (July 10, 2007)
Legislation Influenced:
Massachusetts Bill H. 3103, "An act relative to reforming municipal aid formulas," 2011
Massachusetts Bill H. 3102, "An act reforming additional assistance to municipalities," 2011
Honors and Awards:
Service Quality Award, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2009
One of 20 young scholars nationwide selected to participate in the Entrepreneurship Research Boot Camp sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, July 2005
Paul Speranza Tax Policy Research Scholarship, Syracuse University, 2002—2004
Maxwell Summer Fellowship, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University, 2004
Center for Policy Research Summer Research Fellowship, Syracuse University, 2002