Strauss, John

Contact Information
Professor, Department of Economics
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Office: KAP 318A
Phone: (213) 740-7698
E-mail: jstrauss@usc.edu

Education

• B.A. Political Science, Northwestern University, 1/1973

• Ph.D. Economics, Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University, 7/1981

Background
John Strauss is Professor in the Economics Department and in the Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California.  He was Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal, Economic Development and Cultural Change from August 2003 until November 2013.  He was co-editor of the Handbook of Development Economics, Volume 4, which contains major surveys of the recent scientific literature on various topics in development economics, including a co-authored a chapter by Strauss on health and development economics.

Strauss is the Principal Investigator of Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS), with co-PIs Bondan Sikoki of Survey Meter, and Firman Witoelar.  IFLS is a major panel survey of households and communities in Indonesia, funded by NIA and NICHD.  Strauss is also a Principal Investigator of the China Health and Retirement Study (CHARLS), along with Professor Yaohui Zhao of Peking University and Dr. Gonghuan Yang of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. CHARLS is funded by NIA. His previous positions include in the Economics departments at Michigan State University, Yale and the University of Virginia. He is also affiliated with the RAND Corporation and is a Chang Jiang Scholar at Peking University.

Description of Research
Summary Statement of Research Interests
Economist John Strauss is a recognized specialist in the fields of development economics, the economics of the household, the economics of human resource investments and labor market outcomes. He just finished co-editing Volume 4 of the Handbook of Development Economics. Strauss is the current Principal Investigator of the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS), Wave 4 having just come out publicly in spring 2009; and PI of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS); the Pilot data for which came out publicly in spring 2009. He is Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal, Economic Development and Cultural Change.

 Affiliations with Research Centers, Labs, and Other Institutions

• African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), Resource Person, 1999-present

• China Center for Economic Research, Peking University, Chang Jiang Professor

Funded Research
Contracts and Grants Awarded

• China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (National Institute on Aging), John Strauss, Yaohui Zhao, $1,270,000, 05/15/2010-05/14/2015

• Studies of Health, Retirment, and Living Arrangements of the Elderly Poulation in China (Fogerty International Center, NIH), John Strauss, Yaohui Zhao, $150,000, 2009-2012

• Biomarkers in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (National Institute on Aging), John Strauss, Eileen Crimmins, $275,000, 2009-2011

• Dynamics of Family Well-Being in a Low_income Setting (NICHD), John Strauss, $1,405,786, 09/28/2006-06/30/2010

• “Fourth Indonesian Family Life Survey of Aging” (National Institute of Aging), John Strauss, $1,309,208, 09/16/2006-06/30/2010

• China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, Pilot (National Institute of Aging), Dr. Yaohui Zhao, John Strauss, $274,954, 09/30/2007-08/31/2009

• China Aging Conference (National Institute of Aging), John Strauss, $32,000, 02/2007-01/2008

Selected Publications
Book

• Schultz, T., Strauss, J. A. (2008). Handbook of Development Economics, Volume 4. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

• Singh, I., Strauss, J. A., Squire L. (1986). Agricultural Household Models: Appilcations, Extensions, and Policy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Universtiy Press.

Book Chapters

• Strauss, J. A., Qian, E., Shen, M. (2010). Private Sector Industrialization in China. Palgrave/Macmillan.

• Strauss, J. A., Thomas, D. (2008). Health Over the Life Course in T.P. Schultz and J. Strauss (eds.), Handbook of Development Economics, Volume 4. (Vol. Handbook of Development Economics, Volume 4). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Journal Articles

• Strauss, J. A. (2016). Health Insurance and Health Care Among the Mid-aged and Older Chinese: Evidence from the National Baselin Survey of CHARLS. Health Economics.

• Strauss, J. A. (2016). Prevalence, Diagnosis and Management of Diabetes Mellitus Among Older Chinese: Results from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. International Journal of Public Health.

• Stauss, J. A. (2015). Living Arrangements of the Elderly in China: Evidence from the CHARLS National Baseline. China Economic Journal.

• Strauss, J. A., Zhao, Y., Smith, J. P. (2014). Comment: Can China Age Healthily? Lancet.

• Strauss, J. A., Hu, Y., Smith, J. P., Yang, G., Zhao, Y. (2014). Cohort Profile: The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. International Journal of Epidemiology.

• Strauss, J. A., Huang, W., Lei, X., Ridder, G., Zhao, Y. (2013). Height Shrinkage, and SES at Older Ages: Evidence from China. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.

• CHARLS Research Team (multiple authors). (2013). Challenges of Population Aging in China:  Evidence from the National Baseline Survey of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS).

• Strauss, J. A., Lei, X., Park, A., Shen, Y., Smith, J. P., Yang, Z., Zhao, Y. (2010). Health Outcomes and Socioeconomic Status Among the Elderly in China. Journal of Population Ageing.

• Thomas, D., Witoelar, F., Frankenberg, E., Sikoki, B., Sumantri, C., Suriastini, W., Strauss, J. A. (2010). Cutting the Costs of Attrition: Evidence from the Indonesia Family Life Survey. Journal of Development Economics.

Technical Reports

• Strauss, J. A., Witoelar, F., Sikoki, B., Wattie, A. (2009). User's Guide for the Indonesia Family Life Survey, Wave 4: Volume 2. RAND Labor and Population Working Paper WR-675/2-NIA/NICHD.

• Strauss, J. A., Zhao, Y., Park, A., Sun, Y. (2009). China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study-Pilot User's Guide. China Center for Economic Research, Peking U.

• Strauss, J. A., Witoelar, F., Sikoki, B., Wattie, A. (2009). The Fourth Wave of the Indonesia Family Life Survey: Overview and Field Report. RAND Labor and Population Working Paper WR-675/1-NIA/NICHD.

Working Papers

• Lei, X., Giles, J., Hu, Y., Park, A., Strauss, J. A., Zhao, Y. (2011). Determinants of Intergenerational Transfers: Evidence from CHARLS.

• Smith, J. P., Shen, Y., Strauss, J. A., Yang, Z., Zhao, Y. (2010). The Effects of Childhood Health on Adult Health and SES in China. IZA.

• Mani, S., Hoddinott, J., Strauss, J. A. (2010). Long Term Impacts of Investments in Early Schooling: Empirical Evidence from Rural Ethiopia. BREAD.

• Lee, N., Ridder, G., Strauss, J. A. (2010). Estimation of Poverty Transition Matrices WIth Noisy Data. BREAD.

• Strauss, J. A., Witoelar, F., Sikoki, B. (2009). Socioeconomic Success and Health in Later Life: Evidence from the Indonesia Family Life Survey. RAND.

Conferences and Other Presentations
Conference Presentations

• "Aging in Asia: Evidence from China and Indonesia", Internaitonal Symposium on Social Aspects of a Changing Population , Keynote Lecture, Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Invited, 2010-2011  

• "Determinants of Intergenerational Transfers: Evidence from CHARLS", Conference on Policy Research and Data Needs to Meet the Challenges of Population Aging in Asia, Talk/Oral Presentation, Paper, Beijing China, National Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of S, Invited, 2010-2011  

• "Health Care and Insurance Among the Elderly in China: Evidence from the CHARLS Pilot", Conference on Policy Research and Data Needs to Meet the Challenges of Population Aging in Asia, Talk/Oral Presentation, Beijing, China, US National Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy o, Invited, 2010-2011  

• "Socio-economic Success and Health in Later Life: Evidence from the Indonesia Family Life Survey", Conference on Policy Research and Data Needs to Meet the Challenges of Population Aging in Asia, Talk/Oral Presentation, Beijing, US National Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy o, Invited, 2010-2011  

• "Cutting the Costs of Attrition", Pacific Development Economics , Talk/Oral Presentation, USC, 2009-2010  

• "Cutting the Costs of Attrition", World Bank Conference on Data in Development, Talk/Oral Presentation, Washington DC, World Bank, Invited, 2009-2010  

• "Estimation of Poverty Transition Matrices with Noisy Data", Pacific Development Economics , Talk/Oral Presentation, Refereed USC, 2009-2010  

• "Estimation of Poverty Transition Matrices with Noisy Data", Econometric Society Winter Meetings, Talk/Oral Presentation, Refereed Denver, 2009-2010  

• "Estimation of Poverty Transition Matrices with Noisy Data", Econometric Society World Congress, Talk/Oral Presentation, Shanghai China, 2009-2010  

• "Long term impacts of investment in early schooling", Pacific Development Economics , Talk/Oral Presentation, Refereed USC, 2009-2010  

• "Socioeconomic success and health in later life", Population Association of America, Talk/Oral Presentation, Refereed Detroit, 2009-2010  

• "Socioeconomic success and health in later life", World Congress of Internaitonal Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), Talk/Oral Presentation, Marakesh, Morocco, 2009-2010  

Other Research

• co-PI on China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), pilot. We prepared a brand new survey in 2 provinces in China, patterned after the HRS survey in the US. Pilot was fielded in the summer of 2008 and placed in the public domain May, 2009. Now working on preparation for the first national wave of CHARLS, to be fielded in spring of 2011., 2007-2015 

• Principal Investigator, Indonesia Family Life Survey Fielded 4th wave of survey from 2007 to mid-July 2008. Worked on documentation and preparation of data for public use, which was completed in May, 2009., 2007-2010 

Honors and Awards

• Senior Fellow, Bureau for Research in Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), 2005- 

• Chang Jiang Scholar at Peking University, 2005-2011 

Service to the University - Administrative Appointments

• Director, Institute of Economic Policy Research, 08/16/2006-08/15/2008 

Service to the University - Committees

• Member, Graduate Admission Committee, 2009-2010  

• Chair, 2nd Year Empirical Paper Committee, 2008-2009  

Service to the Profession - Conferences Organized

• Organizer, Pacific Development Economics , USC, 2009-2010  

Service to the Profession - Editorships and Editorial Boards

• Editor-in-Chief, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 08/2003-08/2013 

Service to the Profession - Review Panels

• National Institutes of Health, Regional and International Differences in Health and Longevity at Older Ages, R01 review panel, 2010-2011  

• National Institutes of Health, Subjective Well-Being, R01 review panel, 2010-2011  

• National Institutes of Health, R21-R03 Review Panel, 2009-2010  

• African Economic Research Consortium, Resource Person, 1997-2009