Before 2015, the Research Division for Rural Environmental and Ecological Economics was known as the Research Division for Ecological Economics established in 1987. Since 2011, it has undertaken 65 projects and delivered more than 315 publications, including 56 monographs, 130 core journal papers and over 100 policy proposals. Relying on it, the CASS Research Center for Eco-Environmental Economics was set up.

Research area: rural environmental and ecological economics.

Research directions: ecological economic theory, ecosystem service value, sustainable resource utilization and management, rural ecological and environmental management, ecological compensation, and ecological environment policy.