Profile
Biography
I joined the School for Business and Society as a Lecturer in Social and Public Policy in July 2023. Prior to that I was a Lecturer in Gerontology at the University of Southampton. I hold a BA in Labour and Social Security from Renmin University of China, an MSc in Social Policy (Research) from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, and a PhD in Social Policy and Social Work from the University of York.
My research and teaching focus on social policy analysis and ageing. Specifically, I am interested in public pensions, intergenerational relationships, family support, social policy in China/East Asia, and mixed-method research designs.
Research
Overview
My research interests lie in the intersections of ageing populations, social policy, and intergenerational family dynamics. My recently completed PhD used a mixed-method approach to analyse old-age pensions and family support in China, providing new insights into intergenerational relationships by bridging the societal and familial levels of analysis. It involved a series of secondary analyses of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study datasets, as well as primary qualitative data analysis via in-depth interviews with older Chinese people. The findings highlight the implications of unequal access to public pensions on gender and intergenerational relationships.
My current research agenda focuses on the gender dynamics of intergenerational support arrangements in different welfare regimes. I am an advocate of mixed-method research designs in social sciences.
Publications
Selected publications
Liu, J. (2023). Two levels of agency: the negotiation of intergenerational support in Chinese families. In R. Cefalo, M. Rose, &; A. Jolly (Eds.), Social Policy Review 35: Analysis and Debate in Social Policy, 2023 (1st ed., pp. 82–104). Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.4350568.10 [Open Access]
Wallace, A., Rugg, J. J., & Liu, J. (2022). Do Affordable Homeownership Schemes Reduce Homeownership Risks for Lower Income Households in England? Available at: https://pure.york.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/do-affordable-homeownership-schemes-reduce-homeownership-risks-fo [Open Access]
Sole translator of the Chinese version of the book “Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches” (3rd Edition) by W. Lawrence Neuman《社会研究入门：如何理解我们的日常社会生活》劳伦斯•纽曼著，刘佳昕译，后浪丨九州出版社，2021年3月
Teaching
Other teaching
I am involved in both campus-based and online teaching including:
- Policy Think Tank
- Researching Policy and Society
- Exploring Policy Research
