Jing Cynthia Wu

Jing Cynthia Wu is a Professor and Paul W. and Catherine A. Boltz Chair in the Department of Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, part of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Her research focuses on macroeconomics and finance, with an emphasis on monetary policy, fiscal policy, and financial market dynamics. She holds editorial roles at the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking and the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, and is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

Her work examines unconventional monetary policies such as quantitative easing (QE), central bank digital currencies (CBDC), and the implications of zero lower bound constraints. Key themes include fiscal-monetary policy interactions, inflation targeting strategies, and the transmission mechanisms of global financial integration. Recent studies address post-pandemic inflation dynamics, policy normalization, and the distributional effects of monetary interventions.

Dr. Wu’s contributions span both theoretical modeling (e.g., New Keynesian frameworks, heterogeneous agent models) and empirical analysis of financial markets. She has published extensively on yield curve dynamics, bond risk premia, and the macroeconomic impacts of unconventional policies. Her research bridges academic theory with policy relevance, informing central bank decision-making on tools like QT (quantitative tightening) and forward guidance.

• Awards/Honors: Paul W. and Catherine A. Boltz Chair, NBER Research Associate, Journal Editorial Roles
• Grants/Advising: Active in funding and mentorship through UIUC and NBER collaborations, though specific grants/students are not listed in available data.

Her work often addresses pressing policy questions such as optimal QE design, CBDC frameworks, and the role of international financial linkages in policy transmission. Current projects likely explore evolving central bank toolkit strategies and inflation dynamics in a post-pandemic world.