Dr Ran Gu

Overview

Ran Gu is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Economics at City St George’s, University of London, and a Research Associate at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Before joining City, he was a Lecturer in Economics at the University of Essex and received his PhD in Economics from University College London. He has also studied at Yale University, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, and Peking University.

His research lies at the intersection of household finance, macro-labour, and applied microeconomics, and his work has been published in leading journals such as the Review of Financial Studies and Quantitative Economics. He is currently working on projects related to social mobility, energy efficiency, and the effects of labour market policies on household behaviour.

 

Qualifications

• PhD, University College London, United Kingdom

Employment

• Senior Lecturer, City, University of London, United Kingdom, September 2025 - present
• Research Associate, Institute for Fiscal Studies, United Kingdom, October 2018 - present
• Lecturer, University of Essex, United Kingdom, June 2018 - August 2025

Featured publications

1. Gu, R., Peng, C. and Zhang, W. (2026). The Gender Gap in Household Bargaining Power: A Revealed-Preference Approach. The Review of Financial Studies, 39(6), pp. 1611-1653. doi:10.1093/rfs/hhae039

   [publisher’s website]

2. Xue, B., Chung, H., Gu, R. and McMunn, A. (2026). Does the ‘right to request’ flexible work policy influence men’s and women’s uptake of flexible working and well-being: findings from the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 80(1), pp. 17-24. doi:10.1136/jech-2025-224166

   [publisher’s website]

3. Blundell, R., Gu, R., Leth-Petersen, S., Low, H. and Meghir, C. (2026). Durables and lemons: Private information and the market for cars. Quantitative Economics, 17(1), pp. 38-91. doi:10.3982/qe1822

   [publisher’s website]

4. Gu, R. and Zhong, L. (2023). Effects of stay-at-home orders on skill requirements in vacancy postings. Labour Economics, 82. doi:10.1016/j.labeco.2023.102342

   [publisher’s website]

5. Gu, R. (2023). Human capital and the business cycle effects on the postgraduate wage premium. Review of Economic Dynamics, 48, pp. 345-376. doi:10.1016/j.red.2022.07.001

   [publisher’s website]

Publications by category