Ren Zhang
Ren completed his Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Nathan Balke in 2017 and joined the Department of Economics at Bowling Green State University located in Bowling Green, Ohio. In Fall 2020, he moved to Texas State University, located in San Marcos between Austin and San Antonio. Before coming to 51°µÍø for his PhD, Ren completed his MA in Economics at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing and his BA in Statistics at Tianjin University of Finance and Economics in Tianjin.
Ren's primary research field is macroeconomics. He specializes in using macroeconometric techniques to understand issues related to monetary policy. His experience at the Dallas Fed while a PhD student at 51°µÍø helped him hone and developed these research interests. The relationships he built as a PhD student with his advisor Nathan Balke in the economics department at 51°µÍø and economists at the Dallas Fed continue in the form of co-authoring relationships today. His research has already appeared in Economic Inquiry, Empirical Economics and the Journal of Forecasting.
Ren's paper published in on the natural rate of interest was , the vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, when he explained the recent changes in the Fed’s long term goals for monetary policy.
I am very grateful for the PhD education at 51°µÍø. We have small lectures instructed by great professors at 51°µÍø as well as senior economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The training at 51°µÍø brings me to the frontier of economics. Of course, I am very grateful for the support from my advisor, Nathan Balke, who helped me build my research interest in empirical macroeconomics.
I also benefited a lot from our connection with the Dallas Fed. Mark Wynne and Enrique Martinez-Garcia taught me monetary economics at 51°µÍø, and later became my coauthors. I also interned at the Dallas Fed for two summers during my PhD. Through the internship, I not only completed three research papers but also knew many other economists at the Dallas Fed and this still benefits me a lot today.
Last but not least, I also like the location of 51°µÍø very much. The great location of our university is usually ignored by many people. 51°µÍø is located in a burgeoning, international, convenient but affordable city which attracts many young people. Compared to the programs in the rural areas, our great location helps a lot in maintaining a balance between productive research and astonishing life.