Education

Ph.D., 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

M.S., applied statistics, Syracuse University, 2002

B.A., economics, Renmin University of China, with distinction, 1997

 

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

Publications

Refereed Journal Articles:

Bo Zhao, "The Fiscal Impact of Local-Option Taxes on Municipalities: The Case of Massachusetts," Municipal Finance Journal, Vol . 31, No. 4, 63-86, April 2011. 

Katharine Bradbury and Bo Zhao, “Measuring Non-School Fiscal Disparities among Municipalities,” National Tax Journal, Vol. 62, No. 1, 25-56, March 2009.

Bo Zhao and Katharine Bradbury, “Designing State Aid Formulas,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol.28, No. 2, 278-295, March 2009.

Lloyd A. Blanchard, Bo Zhao, and John Yinger, “Do Lenders Discriminate Against Minority and Woman Entrepreneurs?” Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 63, No. 2, 467-497, March 2008.

Bo Zhao, Jan Ondrich, and John Yinger, “Why Do Real Estate Brokers Continue to Discriminate? Evidence from the 2000 Housing Discrimination Study,” Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 59, No. 3, 394-419, May 2006.

Bo Zhao, “Does the Number of Houses a Broker Shows Depend on a Homeseeker’s Race?” Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 57, No. 1, 128-147, January 2005.

Book Chapters:

Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in Urban Housing Markets: Evidence from Audit Studies, PropQuest/UMI, 2006.

"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

Bank Publications:

"Making State Aid Cuts 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 11-1, 2011.

"Municipal Aid Evaluation and Reform" Federal Reserve Bank of Boston NEPPC Working Paper Series 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 10-2, 2010.

“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, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston NEPPC Working Paper Series 10-4, 2010.

“The Fiscal Impact of Potential Local-Option Taxes in Massachusetts,” Federal Reserve Bank of Boston NEPPC Working Paper Series 10-2, 2010.

“Designing State Aid Formulas: The Case of a New Formula for Distributing Municipal Aid in Massachusetts,” with Katharine Bradbury, FRB Boston Series, paper no. 08-2, 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, FRB Boston Series, paper no. 06-3, 2006, 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, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston NEPPC Working Paper Series, no. 06-1, 2006.

Other:

"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).

 

Presentations and Testimony

National Association of State Budget Officers Budget Officer Discussion: Lessons Learned from the Downturn, 2012

Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Boston, 2012

APPAM Annual Research Conference, 2011

Federation of Tax Administration Revenue Estimation & Tax Research Conference, 2011

Eastern States Legislative Fiscal Officers Association Conference, 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

City of Boston Administration, MA, 2011

Metro Mayors' Coalition, 2011

Federal Reserve System Committee on Applied Microeconomics Annual Conference, 2011

Masssachusetts State House, 2011

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 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

Beacon Hill Institute, Suffolk University, 2010

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

New England Advisory Council, 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

University of New Hampshire, 2009

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012

Massachusetts Annual Governor's Conference on Travel & Tourism, 2009

Environmental Business Council of New England, 2008

APPAM Annual Research Conference, 2008

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

Community Development Advisory Council, 2008

Massachusetts Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration, 2008

Harvard University, Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, 2007

National Tax Association Annual Conference, 2007

Federal Reserve System Committee on Applied Microeconomics Annual Conference, 2007

Massachusetts Lodging Association’s 2008 Boston Outlook Conference, 2007

National Tax Association Annual Conference, 2006

Metro Mayors’ Coalition, 2006

Fiscal Policy Committee and Revenue Sharing Task Force of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, 2006

Gordon College, 2006

Northern Illinois University, 2005

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, 2005

Freddie Mac, 2005

Grand Valley State University, 2005

Alfred University, 2005

New Hampshire House and Senate Ways and Means and Finance Committees, Joint Economic Briefing, 2005

Public Service

Referee: Journal of Urban Economics; Regional Science and Urban Economics;, Scandinavian Journal of Economics; Public Budgeting & Finance; Municipal Finance Journal; Eastern Economic Journal; Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research; Regional Studies; and National Tax Journal

Technical adviser, Local Aid Task Force of Massachusetts Executive Office of Administration and Finance, 2011

Editorial board member, Communities & Banking magazine, 2008—2009

Discussant, National Tax Association Annual Conference, 2006, 2008-2011

Discussant, APPAM Annual Research Conference, 2008, 2010

Chair, "Property Tax Administration and Property Tax Data" session, National Tax Association Annual Conference, 2008

Judge for the APPAM Poster Session Award, APPAM Annual Research Conference, 2008

Discussant, AEA Annual Meeting, 2008

Ph. D. dissertation committee member, Department of Economics, University of New Hampshire, 2007—2008

Discussant, Federal Reserve System Committee on Applied Microeconomics Annual Conference, 2008

Discussant, Federal Reserve System Committee on Regional Analysis Annual Conference, 2007

Judge, College Fed Challenge Competition and High School Fed Challenge Competition, 2007—2009

Municipal aid subcommittee member, Municipal Finance Task Force, 2006—2007