Fengyu Wu

Professional experience

• Researcher, STATEC Research (current).
• Assistant Professor, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
• Research Fellow, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
• Research Associate, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem NC, USA.
• Research Assistant, University of Southern California, Los Angeles CA, USA.
• Teaching Assistant, University of Southern California, Los Angeles CA, USA.
• Teaching Assistant, Singapore Management University, Singapore.

Education

• Ph.D. in Economics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles CA, USA.
• B.S. in Economics (Summa Cum Laude), Singapore Management University, Singapore.

Journal publications

• Wu, F., and Nugent, J.B. (2026). Mitigating Life Challenges to Subjective Well-Being Through Civic Engagement: Insights from a Global Perspective. Social Indicators Research 181, 52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-025-03763-y
• Stansel, D. and Wu, F. (2024), Economic freedom, the minimum wage, and food insecurity, Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, On-line first.
• Ma, M., Wang, S., Wu, F. (2024), Lockdown, Infection, and Expressed Happiness in China, Journal of Happiness Studies, On-line first.
• Lei, L., Wu, F. & Xia, Y. (2023). Child Gender and Subjective Well-Being of Older Parents in China. Journal of Happiness Studies, online first.
• Rudolf, R., Wang, S., & Wu, F. (2023). The Arab Spring, a setback for gender equality? Evidence from the Gallup World Poll. Journal of Asian Economics, 84, 101578.
• Wu, F. (2022). Intergenerational support and life satisfaction of older parents in China: A rural–urban divide. Social Indicators Research, 160(2-3), 1071-1098.
• Wu, F. (2021). Modern economic growth, culture, and subjective well-being: evidence from Arctic Alaska. Journal of Happiness Studies, 22(6), 2621-2651.
• Wu, F. (2020). An examination of the effects of consumption expenditures on life satisfaction in Australia. Journal of Happiness Studies, 21(8), 2735-2771.
• Wu, F., & Nugent, J. B. (2018). Explaining gender differences in socioeconomic and political objectives in the Middle East. Review of Middle East Economics and Finance, 14(1), 20170031.
• Nugent, J. B., Switek, M., & Wu, F. (2016). Socio-political attitudes across the world: to what extent are they affected by one’s religion, its importance, majority status and relative income?. Middle East Development Journal, 8(2), 291-328.

Reports

• Burger, M., Greyling, T., Rossouw, S., Sarracino, F. and Wu, F. (2026), Social media and wellbeing in the Middle East & North Africa. In World Happiness Report 2026 (pp.243-268). Wellbeing Research Centre, University of Oxford.
• O'Connor, K.J., Peroni, C., Sarracino, F., Slater, G. and Wu, F. (2025), Supporting others: How prosocial behaviour reduces deaths of despair, World Happiness Report 2025, World Happiness Report.
• Kim, S., Ma, M., Wang, S., & Wu, F. (2022). Measuring Happiness amid the COVID-19 Pandemic (Pdf). Global Happiness and Well-being Policy Report 2022, 135-157.
• Kim, S., Ma, M., Wang, S., & Wu, F. (2021). Policy Brief 2: Measuring Happiness during the Pandemic (Pdf). Policy Brief 2: Resilience in Turbulent Times.
• Kim, S., Ma, M., Wang, S., & Wu, F. (2021). Policy Brief 1: Measuring Happiness during the Pandemic (Pdf). Policy Brief 1: Surviving COVID-19.
• Ma, M., Wang, S., & Wu, F. (2021). COVID-19 Prevalence and Well-being: Lessons from East Asia (Pdf). World Happiness Report 2021, 57-90.
• Ma, M. & Wu, F. (2020). Happiness in the Aging Society. China Happiness Report.

Teaching experience

• Instructor, Healthy Aging Quantitative Analysis, East China Normal University (36 hours)
• Instructor, Principles of Economics, East China Normal University (54 hours)
• Instructor, The Social Science of Happiness, Wake Forest University (20 hours)
• Instructor, The Philosophy and Social Science of Happiness, Wake Forest University (40 hours)