Victor Li, PhD

Victor Li, PhD

Professor of Economics | Villanova School of Business

Victor Li, PhD, is an expert in macroeconomics, economic policy and monetary theory and policy.

Areas of Expertise (6)

  • Business
  • Economic Theory
  • Monetary Policy
  • Macroeconomics
  • Monetary Theory
  • Federal Reserve

Biography

Dr. Li's research interests are in the areas of macroeconomics and monetary theory and policy. Li is a frequent voice in the media on the Federal Reserve. He has been a contributor to U.S. News and has been quoted over the years by ABC News, NPR, CNN, Bloomberg Radio, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and Business Week.

Education (3)

  • Northwestern University: PhD
  • Northwestern University: MA
  • Delaware State University: BS

Affiliations (1)

  • Former Senior Economist at Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Select Media Appearances (6)

The next financial crisis: Why it is looking like history may repeat itself

CNBC

9/14/2018

Sept. 15, 2018, will be the 10th anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States. It was the definitive moment that pushed the U.S. economy into the Great Recession and the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. It can happen again. In fact, the current direction in federal policy suggests it even may be likely.

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Op-ed: Front-runners to replace Yellen have too much Wall Street in their past

CNBC

10/9/2017

It was a good run, Janet Yellen. It's crucial that the Federal Reserve remain a nonpolitical and independent institution, and this begins with the selection of Fed chair. Both Ben Bernanke and current chair Janet Yellen have demonstrated that sound monetary policy that is credible and transparent can pull back the nation from the brink of economic disaster. ...

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Is the timing right for a Fed rate hike?

Bankrate

9/19/2016

Grab the antacid bottle … in the convenient economy size. The Federal Reserve’s rate-setting panel meets this week to hash out whether to make its first rate boost in 10 months (and only the 2nd since June 2006), and it’s enough to give investors indigestion. ... Victor Li, associate professor of economics at Villanova University, says the September decision is a lot closer than most observers think. He sees a hike in December but can see how the Fed might not want to risk an environment ripe for “moral hazard.”

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Op-ed: Yellen's Fed is off to a good start

U.S. News & World Report

4/29/2014

It’s been less than three months since Janet Yellen took over as chair of the Federal Reserve, but many in the financial community are already grading her performance and, so far, the reviews are mixed, ranging from poor to outstanding. With the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting this week, investors and policymakers will scrutinize Yellen even more closely than last month. The honeymoon (if there ever was one) is definitely over.

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Op-ed: The right man at the right time

U.S. News & World Report

8/19/2013

Ben Bernanke is expected to step down at the end of his second full term as chairman of the Federal Reserve and there is already rampant speculation as to who will be his successor. Top contenders include Fed insiders Janet Yellen and Donald Kohn, as well as former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. The end of Bernanke's tenure will be a milestone for both the Federal Reserve and the nation. What will history eventually say about the man who presided over the worst economic crisis America has faced since the Great Depression and where will he be placed among his influential predecessors?

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Fed to Continue Bond-Buying Program

New York Times

1/26/2011

Federal Reserve policy makers voted unanimously on Wednesday to continue the central bank’s $600 billion plan to spur the recovery by buying government bonds. ... Victor E. Li, an economist at the Villanova School of Business, said that by not overreacting to recent improvements in employment and growth projections, the Fed seemed cautious. “I would have thought the statement would have been more optimistic,” he said.

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Select Academic Articles (5)

Search, Financial Market Frictions, and Monetary Transmission

Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking (Forthcoming)

Li, V.

2018

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Credit Mismatch and Breakdown

European Economic Review

Besci, Z., and Li, V.

2013

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Decentralized Exchange and Factor Payments: A Multiple Matching Approach

Macroeconomic Dynamics

Laing, D., Li, V., and Wang, P.

2013

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Inside Money, Credit and Investment

Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control

Dressler, S. and Li, V.

2009

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Inflation and Productive Activity in a Multiple Matching Model of Money

Journal of Monetary Economics

Laing, D., Li, V., and Wang, P.

2007

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