Economists

Wenhua Di

Senior Research Economist
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Wenhua Di joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in March 2006. Her current research interests include consumer finance, small business lending and labor.

Di also serves as the executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth Federal Statistical Research Data Center (DFW FSRDC). The DFW FSRDC located at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas provides researchers access to restricted data from federal agencies and other organizations. The center is supported by a partnership between the U.S. Census Bureau and ten regional research institutions.

Before she joined the Dallas Fed, Di was a visiting assistant professor at the University of Texas at Dallas. She taught probability and statistics, econometrics, environmental economics and resource economics. She also worked as a consultant at the World Bank. She holds a PhD in public policy with a concentration in environmental economics from Harvard University, an MS and a BS from Peking University.

Publications

“Student Loan Relief Programs: Implications for Borrowers and the Federal Government,” with Kelly. D. Edmiston, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 671, no. 1, May 2017, pp. 224-248. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716217704410.
“Special Issue: Evaluation of Individual-and Community-Based Programs and Features Introduction,” with Daniel. L. Millimet, Empirical Economics, vol. 52, no. 3, May 2017, pp. 895-900. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-016-1193-2.
“Targeted Business Incentives and the Debt Behavior of Households,” with Daniel. L. Millimet, Empirical Economics, vol. 52, no. 3, May 2017, pp. 1115-1142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-016-1188-z.
“Savings Account Ownership During the Great Recession,” with Sherrie L.W. Rhine, William. H. Greene and Emily Perlmeter, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, vol. 37, no. 3, September 2016, pp. 333-348. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-016-9489-0.
“Measuring and Assessing Patterns in Household Finance,” Public Economics in the United States: How the Federal Government Analyzes and Influences the Economy, vol. 3, 2014.
“Is Household Wealth Sustainable? An Examination of Asset Poverty Reentry After an Exit,” with T. Leonard, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, vol. 35, 2014, pp. 131-144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-013-9357-0.
“The Impact of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program on Local Schools,” with James. C. Murdoch, Journal of Housing Economics, vol. 22, no. 4, December 2013, pp. 308-320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhe.2013.10.002.
“Introduction to Special Issue on Behavioral Consumer Finance,” with Catherine Eckel and James Murdoch, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, vol. 95, November 2013, pp. 126-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2013.09.001.
“An Analysis of the Neighborhood Impacts of a Mortgage Assistance Program: A Spatial Hedonic Model,” with Jielai Ma and James C. Murdoch, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, vol. 29, no. 4, Fall 2010, pp. 682-697. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.20530.
“Pollution Abatement Cost Savings and FDI Inflows to Polluting Sectors in China,” Environment and Development Economics, vol. 12, December 2007, pp. 775-798. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355770x07003944.
“Pollution Taxes and Public Health,” with Mun S. Ho and Dale W. Jorgenson, Economics of the Environment in China, 2002.

Working Papers

“Conspicuous Consumption: Vehicle Purchases by Non-Prime Consumers,” with Yichen Su, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Working Paper no. 2107, June 2021.
“Distant Lending, Specialization, and Access to Credit,” with Nathaniel Pattison, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Working Paper no. 2003, January 2020.
“Student Loan Relief Programs: Implications for Borrowers and the Federal Government,” with Kelly D. Edmiston, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Working Paper no. 1609, November 2016.
“Targeted Business Incentives and the Debt Behavior of Households,” with Daniel Millimet, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Working Paper no. 1602, January 2016.
“Reentering Asset Poverty After an Exit: Evidence from the PSID,” with Tammy Leonard, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Working Paper no. 1204, March 2012.
“The Impact of LIHTC Program on Local Schools,” with James C. Murdoch, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Working Paper no. 1006, 2010.
“An Analysis of the Neighborhood Impacts of a Mortgage Assistance Program: A Spatial Hedonic Model,” with James C. Murdoch, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Working Paper no. 1001, 2010.

Dallas Fed Publications

“Federal COVID-19 Relief Aided Consumer Debt, Though Immigrant Texans Derived Less Benefit,” with Chloe Smith, Southwest Economy, no. 2, 2021.
“Go Figure: Loan Delinquencies Start to Climb After Falling with Stimulus and Relief,” with Carlee Crocker and Olu Eseyin, Southwest Economy, no. 4, 2020.
“Auto Industry on Road to Recovery from Pandemic,” with Carlee Crocker, Dallas Fed Economics, October 13, 2020.
“Small Business Hardships Highlight Relationship with Lenders in COVID-19 Era,” with Nathaniel Pattison and Chloe Smith, Southwest Economy, no. 2, 2020.
“Failed Background Check, Drug Testing Stall Hiring of Low-Skilled Workers,” with Emily Kerr and Christopher Slijk, Dallas Fed Economics, October 17, 2019.
“Texans Help Drive National Increase in Auto Loan Debt,” Southwest Economy, no. 3, 2019.
“Parental Borrowing for College Comes With Repayment Issues,” with Jeff Webster and Carla Fletcher, Southwest Economy, no. 3, 2018.
“High Texas Student Loan Delinquency Rates Underscore Deeper Challenges,” with Stephanie Gullo, Southwest Economy, no. 3, 2017.
“Texas Enterprise Zone Benefits for Poor Prove Elusive,” with Daniel Millimet, Southwest Economy, no. 3, 2016.
“Texas Consumer Credit Series. Student Loans Part 2: Borrow for the Future,” with Emily Ryder Perlmeter, Texas Consumer Credit Series, August 2015.
“Texas Consumer Credit Series. Student Loans Part 1: Get the Numbers Right,” with Emily Ryder Perlmeter, Texas Consumer Credit Series, December 2014.
“Texas Sees Post-Recession Turnaround in Rental Housing Market,” Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Banking and Community Perspectives, no. 3, 2012.
“Pathways to Financial Enhancement, a Case Study,” with Tammy Leonard and Emily Ryder, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Banking and Community Perspectives, no. 2, 2012.
“Surveying the Landscape: the Challenge of Affordable Housing in Texas,” Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Banking and Community Perspectives, no. 3, 2012.