After Dr. Shen received her diploma in political economy from Jiaotong University in Xian she worked as a lecturer at Jiaotong University. She obtained her doctorate in labor economics from Renming University in Beijing. Since 1992 she holds a position as Assistant Professor at the China Institute of Industrial Relations in Beijing. Dr. Shen visited Prof. Zimmermann at SELAPO, University of Munich, in 1996 and 1997 for one year to conduct background research for her studies on the future of the Chinese labor market. In particular, she is interested in the experiences with active and passive labor market policies in Germany and the ways in which these might be adapted for the Chinese labor market.

She joined IZA as a Research Fellow in April 1998.