Lu Liu

Lu Liu is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in household finance, real estate, and financial intermediation. Her research examines mortgage markets, labor mobility, and behavioral aspects of housing decisions.

Her research focuses on Household Finance, Real Estate, Financial Intermediation, and Monetary Policy & Financial Stability. Liu investigates how mortgage structures impact labor mobility, wealth inequality, and household decision-making under interest rate fluctuations. Her work combines administrative data with structural modeling to analyze credit markets and housing dynamics.

Liu's publications reveal consistent focus on mortgage market frictions, with recent work examining lock-in effects, refinancing cross-subsidies, and reference dependence in housing transactions. Her research bridges micro-level household behavior with macroeconomic implications for financial stability.

Scientific Awards:

• Homer Hoyt Dissertation Award (AREUEA, 2024)
• Arthur Warga Award, Best Paper in Fixed Income (SFS Cavalcade, 2023)
• Marshall Blume Prize (2024)

Liu actively contributes to academic discourse through media engagements with Knowledge at Wharton, discussing mortgage lock-in effects, long-term mortgage trade-offs, and housing market stability. Her work informs policy discussions on financial regulation and housing market design.