Rui Fan

Download CV

About

My research primarily focuses on the analysis of nonstationary time series data and its applications in economics and finance, including financial market forecasting, risk management, and systemic risk assessment. I am also dedicated to developing robust statistical methods for causal analysis.  

Additionally, I explore applied econometrics across various domains in economics and finance, such as health policy evaluation, firm strategies, and natural resource management. My current research can be categorized into the following areas:

  1. Construction of Financial Market Systemic Risk Indicators: I am engaged in several projects aimed at constructing robust measures of systemic risk in financial markets. My research examines the roles of different markets within the financial system, including commodity, futures, and equity markets, and explores the relationships between them. By analyzing the interconnectedness of various asset types, I aim to develop risk indicators that can provide valuable insights for risk management and serve as early warning signals for policymakers and market participants.
  2. Investigating the Impact of Shocks and Key Factors on Market Systemic Risk: This line of research seeks to identify the impact of various shocks, such as Federal Reserve policy changes and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other key factors that contribute to the escalation of systemic risk in markets. I also explore potential transmission mechanisms to better understand the dynamics of systemic risk within financial markets.
  3. Developing Robust Instrumental Variable Estimation with Endogenous Instruments: In this area, I focus on improving instrumental variable (IV) estimation techniques, especially when instruments may be endogenous. One of my projects is closely related to recent advancements in the use of random forest techniques for causal inference. This work has broad applications in economics, particularly in scenarios where only one potentially endogenous instrument is available.
  4. Developing Robust Statistical Methods for Nonstationary Time Series Data: I am also working on innovative statistical methods for the estimation and inference of persistent, nonstationary time series data with nonlinear dependencies. Such data are common in finance and macroeconomic studies, especially when dealing with high-frequency data. My aim is to create tools that enhance the analysis and interpretation of these complex data sets.
Education & Training
  • Ph.D.   Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2018.
  • M.S.     Statistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2015.
  • M.A.    Economics, Xiamen University, 2011.
  • B.A.     Economics, Sichuan University, 2008.
Other affililations: Lally School of Management

Research

Primary Research Focus
financial econometrics; causal inference; systemic risk; predictive analysis; risk management

Teaching

  • Applied Econometrics (Graduate and Undergraduate), Fall 2018 – ECON 6961, Spring 2019 – ECON 6964, Fall 2019 – ECON 6961, Spring 2020 – ECON 6030/4961, Fall 2020 – ECON 6030/4960, Spring 2021 – ECON 6030/4580.
  • Advanced Data Analytics and Policy Evaluation (Graduate and Undergraduate), Spring 2020 – ECON 6020, Spring 2021/ Spring 2022 – ECON 6040/4590.
  • Panel Data Econometrics (Graduate), Spring 2019 – ECON 6965.  
  • Data Analysis in Economics and Finance (Graduate and Undergraduate), Fall 2021/ Fall 2022 – ECON 6030/4580.
  • Econometrics (Undergraduate, core), Fall 2021/ Spring 2022/ Fall 2022 – ECON 4570.
Current Courses
  • Econometrics (Undergraduate, core), ECON 4570.
  • Data Analysis in Economics and Finance (Graduate and Undergraduate), ECON 6030/4580.
  • Advanced Data Analytics and Policy Evaluation (Graduate and Undergraduate), ECON 6040/4590.

Recognition

Awards & Honors
  • Trustees Celebration of Faculty Achievement Awards, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2022.
  • Economics Department Start-up Grant, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2018-2021. 
  • Research Fellowship, Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2015-2016.
  • Fellowship and Awards for the 5th Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting on Economic Sciences, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), 2014. 
  • Paul W. Boltz Research Fellowship, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014.
  • College of Arts and Sciences Fellowship, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011.
  • Excellent Research Thesis Award, Xiamen University, 2010.
  • The Ronald Coase Institute Fellowship on the 2010 Moscow Workshop on Institutional Analysis, 2010.
Presentations & Appearances
  • 2024:   The Ninth Cross Country Perspective in Finance Conference (CCPF); New York Camp Econometrics XVIII; IEEE-CIFEr Conference

     

  • 2023:   The Meeting of the Midwest Econometrics Group (MEG) at Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS); New York Camp Econometrics XVII

     

  • 2022:   The JIFMIM-CCPF December Conference; Skidmore College; The Seventh Cross Country Perspective in Finance (CCPF) June Conference; The Meeting of the Midwest Econometrics Group (MEG) at Michigan State University

     

  • 2021:   The 4th International Conference on Econometrics and Statistics (EcoSta); The 35th Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence Conference (AAAI)

     

  • 2020:   Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting

     

  • 2019:   National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan); University of Rochester Medical Center; Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (China); Fudan University (China); Xiamen University (China); The 12th International Conference of the ERCIM WG on Computational and Methodological Statistics (CMStatistics); The Asian Meeting of the Econometric Society; New York Camp Econometrics XIV; The Chinese Economists Society North America Annual Meeting (presenter in Invited Session)

     

  • 2018:   Peking University (China); Southern Methodist University; Binghamton University; SUNY-Albany; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; The Meeting of the Midwest Econometrics Group at University of Wisconsin-Madison

     

  • 2016:   The Meeting of the Midwest Econometrics Group at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

     

  • 2014:   The 5th Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting on Economic Sciences, Germany (represented the University of Illinois as a U.S. delegate); The Meeting of the Midwest Econometrics Group at University of Iowa

     

  • 2013:   The Meeting of the Midwest Econometrics Group at Indiana University

     

  • 2010:   The Chinese Economists Society Annual Conference (CES); The Ronald Coase Institute Workshop on Institutional Analysis; The Young Economist Society Annual Meeting (YES)

Publications

The following is a selection of recent publications in Scopus. Rui Fan has 7 indexed publications in the subjects of Economics, Econometrics and Finance, Computer Science, Mathematics.

Cindy S.H. Wang, Rui Fan, Yiqiang Xie
Finance Research Letters
, 56
, 2023
.
Rui Fan, Ji Hyung Lee, Youngki Shin
Journal of Econometrics
, 237
, 2023
.
Lydia Manikonda, Mee Young Um, Rui Fan
ACM International Conference Proceeding Series
, 2022
, pp.364-369
.
Rui Fan, Ji Hyung Lee
Journal of Econometrics
, 213
, 2019
, pp.261-280
.
Haiqi Li, Rui Fan, Sung Y. Park
Economics Letters
, 171
, 2018
, pp.149-153
.
Rui Fan, Haiqi Li, Sung Y. Park
Journal of Futures Markets
, 36
, 2016
, pp.968-991
.
Back to top