Qixin Cai (蔡其新)

Qixin Cai is a Ph.D. candidate at Renmin University of China, expected to graduate in June 2025. He was a visiting Ph.D. student at the Penn Population Studies Center under the supervision of Professor Emily Hannum. He received professional training from the Collaborative for Innovation in Data & Measurement in Aging (CIDMA) Institute at the University of Chicago (2023-2024), participated in the “Summer Institute on Ageing: The Value of Longitudinal Data to Study Ageing” at Venice International University (2024), and completed professional courses in Public Management at the University of Lausanne (2023) and Demographic Analysis from Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) & United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (2024). He has also received pre-doctoral training from Nankai University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, and Nanjing University. Qixin holds an M.P.A. in Social Welfare from the University of Macau, where he gained valuable experience in administrative, teaching, and research roles.

His research focuses on the intricate dynamics of population aging and health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). He is dedicated to using interdisciplinary approaches to generate insights that inform policymakers, especially concerning aging populations. As a recognized IPL Expert in Health and Wellbeing, Social Policy, and Social Protection, Qixin is affiliated with the UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab. He serves as the principal investigator for two ongoing research projects. The first project, “Intergenerational Reciprocity, Old-age Poverty Risks, and Subjective Well-being from the Perspective of Family Structure: Findings from Three Longitudinal Cohort Studies in Middle-Income Countries (MICs),” is funded by the China Scholarship Council (2022-2025). The second project, “The Impact of Parental Migration on the Health of School-Aged Left-Behind Children,” is supported by the Research Funds of Renmin University of China (2022-2024).

Additionally, Qixin has participated in prestigious research collaborations as a Research Affiliate with the Collaborative for Innovation in Data & Measurement in Aging (CIDMA) Network at the University of Chicago, the Network for Innovative Methods in Longitudinal Aging Studies (NIMLAS) at the University of Michigan, and the Network for Data-Intensive Research on Aging (NDIRA) at the University of Minnesota.

Qixin’s selected research outputs related to the population aging research agenda include:

Cai, Q. (2024). Intergenerational Reciprocity and Economic Well-Being of Older Adults from the Perspective of Family Structure Heterogeneity: Preliminary Findings from India. 3rd Collaborative for Innovation in Data & Measurement in Aging (CIDMA) Institute, The University of Chicago.

Cai, Q. (2024). Does Family Structure Matter? Intergenerational Reciprocity, Old-age Poverty, and Their Implications for Subjective Well-being: Evidence from India. Annual SIGMA Research Symposium 2024 & 20th International Conference on Pensions, Insurance and Savings.

Cai, Q. (2022). A conceptual model for governing big data for social security system in China. ARNOVA’s 51st Annual Conference.

Chan, K. S., Zhao, S., & Cai, Q.* (2021). The Development of Pension Big Data Platform in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Great Bay Area (in Chinese). In Macao SAR and Jiangmen: Cooperation, Sharing and Development. Economic Management Publishing House.

Chow, N. W. S., & Cai, Q.* (2021). Future Development Direction of Hong Kong Social Security System (in Chinese). In Greater Bay Area and the Development of Social Security System in Macau. Economic Management Publishing House.

Yang, Y., & Cai, Q.* (2021). China’s Basic Public Service Accessibility Report (2021)(in Chinese). In Blue Book of Accessible Environment: Report on The Development of Accessible Environment in China (2021). Social Sciences Literature Press.