Faculty

Dr. Deng is an expert on affordable housing policies and affordable housing finance and has conducted extensive research in this area. Her research spans between the U.S. and China. In the U.S., Deng is a leading scholar in the research on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, the largest affordable housing production program in the country. Her research engages the central debates on housing and community development, such as the cost-effectiveness of the LIHTC versus Vouchers for affordable housing provision, the link between affordable housing provision and quality of school, and the impacts of affordable housing developments on surrounding neighborhoods. In parallel to her research in the U.S., Deng has also studied housing policy and housing finance issues in China. Her research seeks to reveal the underlying dynamics shaping China’s housing policy development and housing market outcomes. Deng serves on the management board for the leading international journal Housing Studies.

Deng has three ongoing research projects. The first is to study the effects of community-based efforts in saving Detroit’s middle-class and working-class neighborhoods from the destruction of mortgage foreclosures. The second is to examine the year-15 challenges Low-income Housing Tax Credit projects in Detroit face and develop strategies to preserve these affordable housing projects. The third is a study of the efficiency and equity issues in China’s Housing Provident Fund (HPF) program, a subsidized housing finance vehicle to support homeownership.

Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley; M.S. and B.S. from Peking University