Yaojun Li

Yaojun Li is a Professor of Social Change in the Department of Sociology at The University of Manchester. His research focuses on social mobility, social stratification, social capital, ethnic integration, education, and comparative studies between Britain and China. He has held roles in the Cathie Marsh Institute for Social Research and previously at the Institute for Social Change. Li holds a DPhil from Oxford University and has been recognized with an OBE (2025) and Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts (2016).

His research spans over 128 publications, including studies on ethnic minorities' labor market position, social capital's impact on well-being, and intergenerational mobility. Key projects include the ESRC-funded Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) and comparative studies on social mobility between China and Britain. He supervises numerous PhD students on topics like gender, creativity, and meritocracy in China.

Li has advised on policy issues such as race equality measures and migrant integration. His work contributes to UN SDGs related to education and social inclusion. Current teaching includes courses on social capital and social change in China.