GUO Yu is a Professor and doctoral supervisor at Renmin University of China. She currently serves as the Associate Dean of the School of Labor and Human Resources. From 2018 to 2020, she was the Deputy Director of the Research Office at Renmin University of China (on secondment).

Her main research areas include social insurance, elderly services, and social assistance. She has published over fifty papers in Chinese academic journals such as Sociological Studies , Journal of Renmin University of China , Economic Theory and Business Management , Agricultural Technical Economics , Social Security Studies , Insurance Studies , Xuehai , Learning and Practice , Comparative Economic & Social Systems , Sociological Review , and in English academic journals including The China Quarterly , Social Policy & Administration , International Journal of Social Welfare , Aging & Society , and International Journal of Human Resource Management . She has authored two monographs and contributed to over ten textbooks and scholarly books.

Guo Yu has led projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and has undertaken numerous projects for the General Office of the State Council, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Veterans Affairs, Beijing Philosophy and Social Science Planning Office, Beijing Federation of Social Science Circles, and Renmin University of China.

Selected Publications

Guo, Y. & Zhao, L. (2022). Welfare developmentalism with interactive central–local relations: Understanding the recent expansion in pension coverage in China. Social Policy Administration, 56: 891–909.

Guo, Y., He, J., & Wang, F. (2021) Local Social Policy Discretion and the Role of Provinces: Explaining the Subnational Variation in the De Facto Poverty Line in Urban China.  The China Quarterly , 249: 114-138.

Guo, Y. (2017) Career barriers for social work students in China.  Journal of Social Work, 17(6): 732-748.

Guo, Y., Tian, M., Han, K. & Johnson, K., & Zhao, L. (2016). What determines pension insurance participation in China? Triangulation and the intertwined relationship among employers, employees and the government,  International Journal of Human Resource Management , 2016, 27 (18), 2142-2160.

Zhang, Y., Guo, Y., Li, M. (2023). The moderating effect of intergenerational relationships on the association between Internet engagement and mental well-being. Aging & Mental Health, 28(1): 36-44. (SSCI)