W&L Economics Professor Receives Summer Fellowship Alice Tianbo Zhang’s research is being used to shed light on the impact of the pandemic on business activities in Indian Country.

By Brian Laubscher
October 11, 2022

Alice Tianbo Zhang, assistant professor of economics at Washington and Lee University, was selected to the highly competitive Summer Economics Fellows Program sponsored by the American Economic Association and the National Science Foundation.

The program’s goal is to advance the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in the economics profession. As part of the fellowship, Zhang worked with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the Center for Indian Country Development (CICD). The CICD is a nationally recognized thought leader and clearinghouse for resources and initiatives about Native American economic development. It is also the Federal Reserve System’s principal point of contact to Indian Country.

Zhang used high-frequency foot traffic data from myriad businesses in the U.S. to analyze pandemic recovery patterns within Native American reservations. Working together with Matthew Gregg, senior economist at the Minneapolis Fed and CICD, the goal was to shed light on the impact of the pandemic on business activities in Indian Country. Results of the project will be used to inform future policies on pandemic containment and economic relief.

Zhang joined the W&L faculty in 2020 after serving as a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University.  She holds bachelor’s degrees in economics and statistics, with a minor in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley.  She also earned a master’s degree and a doctorate, both in sustainable development, from Columbia University.

If you know a W&L faculty member who has done great, accolade-worthy things, tell us about them! Nominate them for an accolade.