Yibei Qu

• PhD in Economics, University of Birmingham, to be submitted September 2024
• MSc in Finance and Economics, University of East Anglia, 2018

Yibei is a Research Fellow in the Department of Applied Health Sciences. She is pursuing a PhD in Economics at the University of Birmingham, UK, from 2020 to 2024. During her PhD, Yibei investigated the effects of internet access, financial development, and children leaving school on obesity and mental health in the Chinese population.

Previously, Yibei received an MSc in Finance and Economics from the University of East Anglia in 2018. After working as a university lecturer in China for two years, Yibei came to the University of Birmingham to pursue her PhD.

Research interests

Health economics, mental health, well-being, economics of ageing, applied econometrics

Current projects

Yibei currently works on the Wellcome Trust funded Wellbeing Investments in Schools and Employers (WISE) study led by Professor Hareth Al-Janabi. The WISE Research Team are studying how schools and workplaces invest resources in mental health and wellbeing. This includes how money, time, and space are allocated to wellbeing interventions, staffing, culture, and infrastructure. The study will generate models of decision-making processes, establish how schools and workplaces can be best supported to make equitable and efficient decisions, and develop new research methods for studying investment decisions in organisations.