Junlai Zhang
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Junlai Zhang is a postdoctoral researcher at the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Heidelberg University. Dr. Zhang’s research focuses on development economics and health economics, with an emphasis on well-being measurement, population aging, and health expenditure forecasting. He co-developed indicators such as Healthy Lifetime Income to support cross-country comparisons and long-term trend analysis. In the field of aging, he built system dynamics models to forecast China’s demographic and health trends through 2060. His innovative scholarship has been recognized through the awarding of the Barry Richmond Scholarship Award from the System Dynamics Society in 2023 and the Ernst Mach Grant from the Austrian Ministry of Education. Dr. Zhang’s work has been published in leading journals including Social Science & Medicine and Social Indicators Research.
Contact
Education & Awards
Awards
- Barry Richmond Scholarship Award, System Dynamics Society, 2023
Contributions
Projects & Grants
- Ernst Mach Grant – Eurasia-Pacific Uninet, funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science, and Research (BMBWF), 2022.
- Vienna University of Economics and Business, WU mobility grant, 2025
Selected Publications
Zhang, J., Prettner, K., Chen, S., & Bloom, D. E. (2023). Beyond GDP: Using Healthy Lifetime Income to Trace Well-being Over Time With Estimates for 193 Countries. Social Science & Medicine, 115674.
Luo, S., Zhang, J., & Heffernan, M. (2024). Forecast of total health expenditure on China’s ageing population: a system dynamics model. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 1655.
Zhang, J., Chen, S., & Prettner, K., (2025). Measuring High-Quality Development and Progress toward “Common Prosperity” in China. Social Indicators Research.
Contact Information
E-Mail: junlai.zhang@uni-heidelberg.de