Nam T. Vu

Nam T. Vu

Greetings!

I am an Associate Professor of Economics at Miami University. I hold a PhD in Economics from Vanderbilt University. My fields of specialization are international finance, macroeconomics, and applied time-series econometrics. I am also an Associate Editor for Economic Inquiry and International Finance.

Education PhD & MS in Economics (Vanderbilt) BS Mathematics and Economics (Wittenberg)
Contact vunt[at]miamioh[dot]edu
Most Recent CV

Research

Publications, working papers, and ongoing projects.

Publications

  1. "The Real Effects of Brexit on Labor Demand: Evidence from Firm-level Data." (2025).
    Journal of International Economics with Hang Do, Kiet Duong and Toan Huynh.
    Summary: The 2020 Brexit implementation led exposed firms to reduce their workforce by up to 15.7% relative to firms near the Irish border.
    Working Paper VoxEU Summary
  2. "From Russia with Love: International Risk-sharing, Sanctions, and Firm Investments." (2024).
    Economics Letters with Kiet Duong, Toan Huynh, and Anh Phan.
    Summary: Firms connected to sanctioned Russian counterparts use international risk-sharing to mitigate the adverse effects of sanctions.
    VoxEU Summary EuroPP
  3. "Housing Wealth Reallocation between Subprime and Prime Borrowers During Recessions." (2022).
    Macroeconomic Dynamics with Ayse Sapci.
    Summary: Recessions redistribute housing wealth from subprime to prime borrowers as tightened credit conditions disproportionately affect subprime mortgage holders.
    Online Appendix
  4. "Did the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Help Counties Most Affected by the Great Recession?" (2021).
    Review of Economic Dynamics with Mario J. Crucini.
    Summary: ARRA stimulus spending did reach the counties most affected by the Great Recession, with statistically significant and economically large risk-pooling effects.
    Working Paper Replication Data
  5. "Electrification, Telecommunications, and the Finance-growth Nexus: Evidence from Firm-level Data." (2021).
    Energy Economics with Christopher A. Cotter and Peter L. Rousseau.
    Summary: Infrastructure investments operate through financial development to affect firm growth.
    Working Paper
  6. "Asymmetric Effects of Sectoral Shifts under Low and High Uncertainty." (2021).
    Economic Inquiry with Kimberly A. Berg.
    Summary: Sectoral shifts are costlier under high uncertainty than under low uncertainty, both empirically and in a two-sector DSGE model.
    Working Paper
  7. "Price Flexibility and Output Volatility under Menu Costs." (2020).
    Macroeconomic Dynamics
    Summary: Price flexibility can be output-destabilizing under supply shocks, along both the intensive and the extensive margins.
    Working Paper
  8. "International Effects of Stock Market Dispersion." (2020).
    Southern Economic Journal with Jiayu Wu (Miami University 18', Honor Thesis).
    Summary: Cross-sectional dispersion in U.S. equity returns affects international business cycle dynamics.
    Working Paper
  9. "International Effects of Corporate Tax Cuts on Income Distribution." (2020).
    Review of International Economics with Siraj G. Bawa.
    Summary: Corporate tax cuts widen income inequality both within and across borders through differentiated equity holdings in a multi-country DSGE model calibrated to U.S. and Canadian data.
    Working Paper
  10. "International Spillovers of U.S. Financial Volatility." (2019).
    Journal of International Money and Finance with Kimberly A. Berg.
    Summary: Exogenous shocks to U.S. financial volatility generate significant spillovers to macroeconomic activity abroad.
    Working Paper
  11. "Stock Market Volatility and International Business Cycle Dynamics: Evidence from OECD Economies." (2015).
    Journal of International Money and Finance
    Summary: Stock market volatility is a significant driver of international business cycle co-movement.
    Working Paper

Editorial Service

  • Economic Inquiry, Associate Editor (since March 2023)
  • International Finance, Associate Editor (since September 2025)
  • The European Journal of Finance, Guest Editor for special issue "A Decade After Brexit"

Working Papers

  • "State-dependent Distribution Friction and Monetary Policy." (R&R) with Dong (Carl) Cheng.
    Summary: State-dependent distribution frictions weaken the real effects of monetary policy.
  • "Natural Disasters and Asset Prices: Evidence from Winter Storm Uri." (Under Review) with Dong (Carl) Cheng.
    Summary: Asset prices respond more strongly to natural disasters for firms facing high investment adjustment costs.
  • "Real Effects of Inflation Expectation Uncertainty." (R&R)
    Summary: A dynamic model with cognitive discounting of future inflation amplifies the consumption decline to uncertainty shocks.
  • "A Tale of Infrequent but Long-lasting Liquidity Traps." with Kevin X.D. Huang.
    Summary: In a nonlinear DSGE model with heterogeneous firms, both liquidity trap duration and the government spending multiplier are hump-shaped in the size of fiscal stimulus.
  • "Growth in a Time of (Projected) Debt." with Jackie McCafferty and Jonathan Wolff.
    Summary: An increase in projected debt reduces growth above a threshold but raises it below.
  • "Sectoral Shifts and Geopolitical Risks." with Kimberly A. Berg.
    Summary: Unexpected geopolitical shocks induce sectoral shifts and output declines.
  • "Labor Supply, Risk Aversion, and Conflict Uncertainty." with Kiet Duong.
    Summary: Conflict uncertainty negatively affects individuals' willingness to supply labor.
  • "What Matters for the Rise in Trade? Evidence from the African Continental Free Trade Area." with Kiet Duong, Toan Huynh, and Povilas Lastaukas.
    Summary: AfCFTA promoted trade for firms with prior overseas export experience, those in goods-producing sectors, and those with lower capital adjustment costs.
    Slides
  • "Sanctions and Knowledge Spillovers." with Kiet Duong, Toan Huynh, and Steven Ongena.
    Summary: International sanctions subject Russian patent applications to longer processing times and fewer forward citations in sanctioning countries.
  • "Firm-specific Tax Incentives under Sanctions: Evidence from Russian Tax Authorities." with Kiet Duong and Toan Huynh.
    Summary: Russian firms receiving tax incentives before sanctions exhibited higher subsequent revenue, profits, and capital expenditures.

Conference Presentations

2026 - FRC (London, UK), Baltic Economic Conference (Latvia)

2025 - QMUL (London, UK), UEA (Berlin, Germany), MMF (Reading, UK)

2024 - SNEE (Lund, Sweden), CEA (Toronto*), Midwest Macro (Purdue)

2022 - WEAI (Portland, OR), Midwest Macro Meetings (Utah and Texas), Liberal Arts Macro (Middlebury)

2021 – Canadian Economic Association Meetings (Virtual), Southern Economics Association (Virtual)

2020 – WEAI (Virtual), Southern Economics Association (Virtual)

2019 – Midwest Macro Meetings (UGA and MSU), Union College (NY), SEA (FL), AEA

2018 – Vanderbilt University, WEAI (Canada), Midwest Macro Meetings (Vanderbilt, Nashville)

2017 – University of Cincinnati, Oberlin College, WEAI (San Diego), Midwest Macro (LSU)

2016 – Midwest Macro Meetings (Kansas Fed), Southern Economics Association (Washington D.C.)

2015 – Midwest Macro Meetings (Rochester, NY*), Southern Economics Association (New Orleans, LA)

2012 - 2014 – Vanderbilt (International Seminar), Midwest Macro (UC Boulder, FIU), Missouri Economic Conference, Miami, Fordham

(* selected co-author presentations)

Teaching

Courses taught at Miami University and Vanderbilt University.

Miami University

Instructor
  • Principles of Macroeconomics 11 sections
  • Money and Banking 1 section
    Lectures Presentations
  • Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory 19 sections
  • Financial Crises and Recession 2 sections

Vanderbilt University

Instructor

  • Principles of Macroeconomics (Summer 2014)

Teaching Assistant

  • Time-series Econometrics (PhD) - Fall 2013
  • Econometrics (Masters) - Spring 2012, Spring 2013
  • Intro to Econometrics - Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2014
  • Principles of Macroeconomics - Fall 2011