Xiaoxue Zhao conducts research in development economics, political economy, and applied microeconomics. Much of her research focuses on how political factors and the market, social or technological constraints faced by developing economies shape their choice of institutions and how those choices then influence economic outcomes. Some of her recent projects have examined rural communities' land and labor allocation under communal tenure, the impact of fiscal capacity on resource misallocation, and the distortive effect of political connections on firm productivity.  She has ongoing projects that investigate the effects of social capital on entrepreneurs' firm location choice and the interaction between rural villagers' risksharing and temporary migration decisions.

Xiaoxue received both her B.A. in Economics and Political Science and Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University.