Liqiu Zhao is a Professor at the School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China, where she also serves as Chair of the Department of Labor Economics and Research Fellow at the National Academy of Development and Strategy.

She received her Ph.D. in economics from KU Leuven in 2012. Her research interests include labor economics, development economics, and applied micro-econometrics. She has published in leading economic journals, such as Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Health Economics, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Journal of Comparative Economics, Journal of Population Economics, and Social Science & Medicine.

Professor Zhao currently serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Population Economics and China & World Economy.