Zhigang Feng

Dr. Zhigang Feng is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), part of the College of Business Administration. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Miami (2009) and has taught at institutions including the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Zurich, and Purdue University. His research focuses on Macroeconomics, Computational Economics, Public Finance, and Labor Economics, with an emphasis on developing AI/ML-driven numerical methods to model fiscal policy and debt sustainability. He has published in top-tier journals like the International Economic Review and Review of Economic Dynamics.

Dr. Feng’s service contributions include roles on the Holland Computing Center Advisory Committee (2019–present), UNO’s Faculty Senate (2021), and the Academic Freedom Coalition of Nebraska (2021). He has organized mini-conferences on Quantitative Macro and Public Finance in 2015 and 2024, and reviews articles for leading economic journals and grants for the National Science Foundation and Swiss National Computing Center.

His awards include multiple Summer Research Fellowships from the College of Business Administration (2018–2022) and a Mammel Faculty-in-Residence Fellowship (2019). His media engagements include analyses on topics like Nebraska’s minimum wage (Fox42 KPTM, 2021) and the macroeconomic impacts of the Ukraine crisis (KMTV News, 2022).

Dr. Feng’s funded research includes a project on “Public Finance for a Sustainable Future: Strategic Green Initiatives and Low Interest Rate” through the University of Miami. His work bridges theoretical macroeconomics with computational innovation, addressing real-world policy challenges in health insurance systems, fiscal sustainability, and labor markets.