Man Chon (Tommy) Iao

Man Chon (Tommy) Iao

Research Manager

Reserve Bank of Australia

Welcome!

I am a Research Manager in the Economic Research Department of the Reserve Bank of Australia. My research focuses on fiscal and monetary policy with heterogeneous agents. I received my PhD in Economics from New York University in 2025.

Views are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

CV: Click here for a copy.

Contact: iaot@rba.gov.au or manchon.iao@gmail.com

News

  • I will be presenting my working paper, “Fiscal Dominance Risk According to HANK,” at WAMS (Melbourne, Nov 19–21) and OzMac (Brisbane, Dec 5–6). If you are around, I’d be happy to connect!
Interests
  • Macroeconomics
  • Fiscal & Monetary Policy
  • Heterogeneous Agents
  • Inequality
Education

  • PhD in Economics, 2025

    New York University

  • BA in Economics and Applied Mathematics, 2018

    University of California, Berkeley

Working Papers

Why Does Unemployment Risk Reduce the MPC over the Business Cycle?
I present new micro evidence on the relationship between unemployment risk and MPCs and study its implication to the dynamic of the MPC over the business cycle and the effectiveness of stimulus checks during recessions.
Man Chon Iao
July, 2025
PDF
Why Does Unemployment Risk Reduce the MPC over the Business Cycle?
Estimating Heterogeneous Economies with Micro Data
We develop an econometric framework for rapid and efficient estimation of heterogeneous-agent models with micro data and apply it to a medium-scale HANK model, quantifying the importance of heterogeneous earnings exposures in the transmission of monetary policy.
Man Chon Iao, Yatheesan J. Selvakumar
January, 2025
PDF
Estimating Heterogeneous Economies with Micro Data
Hand-to-Mouth Households and Fiscal Multipliers: An Empirical Investigation
I examine the role of hand-to-mouth households in the transmission of government spending using a cross-regional identification approach.
Man Chon Iao
January, 2025
PDF
Hand-to-Mouth Households and Fiscal Multipliers: An Empirical Investigation

Work in Progress

Man Chon Iao (2025). Fiscal Dominance Risk According to HANK. Draft available upon request.

Simon Gilchrist, Man Chon Iao (2024). Customer Capital and the Markup Channel of Monetary Policy.

Teaching

Undergraduate

  • Introduction to Econometrics, NYU, TA, Spring 2025

  • Macroeconomic Analysis, NYU, TA, Spring 2024 (Evaluation)

  • Intermediate Macroeconomics, NYU, TA, Fall 2023 (Evaluation)

  • Advanced Macroeconomics, NYU, Course Assistant, Spring 2022-2025

Graduate

  • Macroeconomics IV (Master), NYU, TA, Spring 2024-2025
  • Math for Economists I (PhD), NYU, TA, Fall 2020-2021