Li Shi is Professor of Economics in the School of Economics and Business at Beijing Normal University. He is one of China's leading scholars on inequality and poverty. His past positions include Director of the Center of Economic Transition and Development Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Professor Li's publications include several edited volumes, including China's Retreat from Equality (2001, with R. Zhao and C. Riskin), and Unemployment, Inequality and Poverty in Urban China (2006, with H. Sato). He has also served as a consultant to international donor organizations and has been a key contributor to China's Human Development Report.