Hello! My name is Lexin Cai (pronounced Lex-in KAI). I’m a Ph.D. Candidate in Economics at Cornell University. I study the effects of school meals and SNAP using large-scale administrative data. My dissertation research is funded with support from the Russell Sage Foundation, Policy Impacts, and the Cornell Department of Economics.

Prior to graduate school, I worked for five years at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a D.C.-based policy research organization focusing on policies affecting low-income families.

I will be on the 2025-2026 academic job market.

You can find a PDF of my CV here.