As the economy and society develop rapidly, new changes and challenges continuously arise in public governance areas such as elderly care, medical care, social security, and financial taxation. How should these challenges be addressed? On October 17, Professor Zhang Yi, Dean of the School of Public Administration at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, stated in an interview that there is an urgent need to cultivate a group of highly qualified, interdisciplinary public management professionals.
Elderly care issues are under close scrutiny in Shanghai, the first city in China to enter an aging society and possessing the highest degree of aging. In late September, Shanghai revised the "Regulations on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Aged" for the first time in nearly a decade, comprehensively upgrading the elderly rights protection system from an institutional level. The introduction of detailed terms such as designated guardianship rights and new caregiver leave has reignited public interest in elderly care services and public management. The revised regulations will officially take effect on November 1, 2025.
By the end of 2024, the number of residents aged 60 and over in Shanghai is projected to reach 5.7762 million, making up 37.6% of the total population, with a clear trend towards increasing elderly numbers. As China’s city with the highest level of aging, Shanghai faces new challenges related to balancing supply and demand in elderly care services, the pressure of caring for seniors, and the development of the silver economy. Consider the scenarios: an elderly person undergoing surgery alone—who signs in the "family member" section? If children are not nearby, how do they get into a nursing home? When an elderly person loses their ability to act independently, who steps in as a guardian? If the elderly is hospitalized, what happens when their only child cannot take time off work?
Shanghai aims to provide fundamental legal guarantees through legislation, while numerous real-world issues still need addressing at the operational level. Zhang Yi indicated that local legislation has built a comprehensive network of protection for the rights of the elderly, providing strong legal support for super-large cities to respond to population aging.
From a broader societal perspective, aging isn't merely a demographic issue but also intersects with medical care, insurance, employment, housing, and intergenerational relationships, among other governance topics. Many social issues are interconnected and require a significant number of interdisciplinary public management talents for multi-level collaborative governance.
In recent years, several top universities in China have accelerated the training of public management professionals aligned with national needs. The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics has been enrolling students since 2005, having accepted over 2,500 students by June 2025, with more than 2,000 graduates. Zhang Yi believes that issues in public management research and practice arise from real and pressing public challenges in social development and national governance. “We hope to cultivate talents who are skilled in finance and public management, thereby creating a interdisciplinary workforce,” he stated.
In professional settings, areas such as economic and financial management and taxation management are especially relevant, while traditional public management fields like social security and health policy and management intertwine significant financial knowledge, emphasizing the cultivation of financial thinking and skills. “Whether managing elderly care or health management, excellent public managers must possess specific professional skills as well as knowledge in finance, taxation, and finance to tackle various complex social issues,” Zhang Yi explained.
In the context of profound changes in the global governance landscape and the promotion of Chinese-style modernization, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics is integrating the resources of the former School of Public Economics and Management and the Institute of Finance to establish the School of Public Administration in 2025. The goal is to train strategic and interdisciplinary talents that align with national strategic needs and lead future governance.
Zhang Yi asserted that as economic and social development progresses and residents’ income levels increase, societal demands for public governance will become more diverse and urgent. To address new changes and challenges, there is an immediate need to cultivate more high-quality public management professionals to cater to various demands of national governance modernization.