What led you to your career as an academic and researcher?
Ever since I was a young child, questions about poverty and inequality have been bothering me. For example, I wondered, why were some families in my community were extremely poor, but some others could be so rich? Is this situation reasonable? Should I help my poor relatives and friends when my family was not rich? How could the government and community help the poor improve their well-being? To answer these questions, I chose economics as my major in college and later earned my Ph.D. in development economics. I believe being a researcher is a good way to join the important mission of fighting against poverty in China.
What are your main research areas and interests?
My main professional interests include welfare and poverty measurement, impact evaluation of anti-poverty policies, and rural development in China. My current research examines the targeting performance, anti-poverty effectiveness, and behavioral incentives in rural Dibao, China’s primary safety net program.
Can you briefly introduce your home institution?
I come from the School of Social Development and Public Policy at Beijing Normal University. The school integrates academic strengths of various disciplines among the social sciences, with a focus on empirical research and implications of public policy. The school produces cutting-edge research based on a profound understanding of the Chinese society, engages in dialogues with top scholars around the world, draws upon leading international expertise to find solutions to problems specific to China, and shares Chinese wisdom and experiences with other parts of the world.
What aspects of being a visiting scholar at Columbia were exciting to you?
Columbia’s library system is very helpful for my research work. I can find almost any book or academic paper that I need from the system. I have spent many hours reading literature and writing manuscripts at Columbia libraries. My host, Prof. Qin Gao at the Columbia School of Social Work, is an expert on poverty and inequality in China. She is a superb mentor, not only offering advice and guidance in my research but also supporting my family’s adjustment to life in New York City.
What have been your main research activities during your stay at Columbia?
During my one-year visit at Columbia, I worked closely with Prof. Qin Gao to carry out two research projects. One project focused on rural Dibao’s targeting performance. We used newly available data and multiple estimation methods to examine sources of targeting errors in rural Dibao’s implementation. The other project was a rigorous evaluation of rural Dibao’s effect on recipients’ subjective well-being. We plan to expand this research and investigate rural Dibao’s possible behavioral incentive effects in the future.
