Born in 1958 in Nanjing, China, Zhu Xiao Di is a graduate of MIT with a master's degree in City Planning (1991). He also received a master’s degree in American Civilization from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 1989.

Between 1992 and 1997, he worked at the Center for Survey Research at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He also worked for Arthur Andersen & Co. as a management consultant between 1995 and 1996. He has been at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University since 1997.

Thirty Years in a Red House

Thirty Years in a Red House (University of Massachusetts Press, 1998) was a Choice magazine Outstanding Books in 1998. Paperback came from the same press in 1999 and a new edition was published by Penguin Books India in 2000. Boston Globe calls it “a splendid lesson in 20th-century Chinese history,” and Library Journal says it is “engrossing and engaging.” The book is listed for further readings in MSN encyclopedia under the topic of "Communism" along with a few other books.

Tales of Judge Dee

Tales of Judge Dee continues a literary tradition created by Robert van Gulik who wrote a series of mystery books based on a historical figure in 7th century China, Judge Dee, who solved numerous amazing criminal cases and became known as the Chinese Holmes in the West. A professor of history at MIT gives a very positive review. Tales of Judge Dee by Zhu Xiao Di

Leisure Thoughts on Idle Books

Leisure Thoughts on Idle Books (Guangxi Normal University Press, 2009) is a collection of over 60 essays covering books and people with influence in Chinese culture.

Others

Zhu Xiao Di is a contributor to Land Policies and Their Outcomes (Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 2007) and The Oxford Handbook of Pensions and Retirement Income (Oxford University Press, 2006), and his publications in academic journals include:“The Imortance of Wealth and Income in the Transition to Homeownership”, Cityscape, a Journal of Policy Development and Research, 2007, “Do Homeowners Have Higher Future Household Income?” Housing Studies, 2007, “Do Homeowners Achieve More Household Wealth in the Long Run?” The Journal of Housing Economics, 2007, “Effects of Housing Push Factors and Rent Expectations on Household Formation of Young Adults”, The Journal of Real Estate Research, 2006, and “Does Housing Wealth Contribute to or Temper the Widening Wealth Gap in America?” Housing Policy Debate, 2005.

As a Senior Research Analyst, he has authored or co-authored numerous Joint Center publications. Recent contributions include:

• “Growing Wealth, Inequality, and Housing in the United States” (2007), Working Paper Series W07-1,
• “Multiple-Home Ownership and the Income Elasticity of Housing Demand” (2006), Working Paper Series W06-5,
• “Housing Wealth and Retirement Savings: Enhancing Financial Security for Older Americans” (2005), Working Paper Series W05-8,
• “The Importance of Wealth and Income in the Transition to Homeownership” (2005), Working Paper Series W05-6,
• “The Impact of Minority Growth and Minorities’ Rising Household Income on Housing Markets” (2005), Working Paper Series W05-5,
• “Emerging Cohort Trends in Housing Debt and Home Equity” (2005), Working Paper Series W05-1,
• “The Impact of New Census Bureau Interim National Population Projections on Projected Household Growth in the United States” (2004), Working Paper Series N04-1,
• “'Million-Dollar' Homes and Wealth in the United States” (2004), Working Paper Series W04-1,
• “Housing Wealth and Household Net Wealth in the United States” (2003), Working Paper Series W03-8,
• “The Importance of Housing to the Accumulation of Household Net Wealth” (2003), Working Paper Series W03-5,
• “How Local Rent Change and Earning Capacity Affect Natural Household Formation by Young Adults” (2003), Working Paper Series W03-3,
• “Intergenerational Wealth Transfer and Its Impact on Housing” (2002), Working Paper Series W02-2,
• “Young American Adults Living in Parental Homes” (2002), Working Paper Series W02-2,
• “The Role of Housing as a Component of Household Wealth” (2001), Paper Series W01-6,
• “Second Homes: What, How Many, Where, and Who” (2001), Working Paper Series N01-2,
• “Cohort Insights into the Influence of Education, Race and Family Structure on Homeownership Trends by Age: 1985 to 1995” (2001),Working Paper Series N01-1,
• “Residential Conversions” (2000), Working Paper Series W00-5,
• “Housing and Economic Development in Suzhou, China: A New Approach to Deal with the Inseparable Issues,” (2000), Working Paper Series W00-4, and
• “Updating and Extending the Joint Center Household Projections Using New Census Bureau Population Projections” (2000), Working Paper Series N00-1.