Renee Wu is a research assistant in the Family and Financial Well-Being Division at the Urban Institute. Her research focuses on financial health and wealth building, with work spanning emerging financial technologies, medical debt, affordability, and social safety net programs. Wu recently examined the state policy landscape surrounding earned wage access and buy now, pay later products. Her work combines quantitative and qualitative methods—including survey analysis, regression modeling, and stakeholder interviews—to generate insights that inform policy and practice.

Before joining Urban, Wu worked at the Poverty and Inequality Research Lab, where she contributed to research on upward mobility and place-based policy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics, sociology, and international studies from Johns Hopkins University.