Events

“Social Welfare: Does it Have a Place in China’s Evolving Economy?”

The Weatherhead East Asian Institute and the Chazen Institute of International Business are pleased to announce the Sixth Annual N.T Wang Distinguished Lecture “Social Welfare: Does It have a Place in China’s Evolving Economy?” featuring Zhigang Yuan, Professor in the School of Economics at Fudan University and Lulu Chow Wang Senior Visiting Scholar at the Jerome A. Chazen Institute of International Business, and moderated by Qin Gao, Professor in the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Science.

Zhigang Yuan is professor of economics at the school of economics, Fudan University. He is also director of the Employment and Social Security Research Center, director of the Postdoctoral Program in theoretical economics at Fudan University, vice president of the Shanghai Economist Society, member of the international academic committee of La Fondation de la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH) in France, and editorial board member of many well-reputed academic journals. After he received his Ph.D. degree in economics from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in 1993, he has been working at the School of Economics, Fudan University, where he served as the school dean from 2004 to 2015, and the director of the economics department in 1999-2003. Due to his contributions to economics researchers and teaching, he was named the distinguished professor of the Changjiang Scholars Program in 2007 and National Outstanding Teacher in 2006 by the Ministry of Education of China. He has been a consultant to numerous government organizations including the Fujian Provincial People’s Government, the Shanghai Municipal Government, and was member of the Chinese Ministry of Labor and Social Security Advisory Committee.

During his Ph.D. studies, he researched disequilibrium economics and its applications in China under the supervision of Prof. Jean-Pascal Benassy. His work, Non-Walrasian Equilibrium Theory and Its Application to China’s Economy, was first published in 1994 and republished in 1997. It won him the Sun Yefang Prize in 1997, the highest reward for Chinese economists.

His research interests include various macroeconomic topics covering employment, social security system, consumption, financial reforms and the real estate market. Over 150 papers and 20 books were published. He has been the principal investigator of a variety of national research projects, including key or major programs funded by the National Social Science Foundation, the Ministry of Education or other government institutions. He received over 20 provincial and national awards for his research, including the Shanghai Award for Outstanding Researches in Philosophy and Social Sciences and the Ministry of Education Award for Research Achievements in Humanities and Social Sciences. His book, Equilibrium and Disequilibrium: China’s Macro Economy and Its Transition, which was published in 2010, was selected into the first edition of the book series named National Achievements Library of Philosophy and Social Sciences. Only seven books in economics were chosen. His book is in The Collection of Books by the Top 100 Economists Who Have Contributed Tremendously to the PRC’s Economy which was published in 2009 for the 60th anniversary of China. In the same year, he was named as one of the 100 most influential Chinese economists.

He teaches both undergraduate level and graduate level macroeconomics, and managerial economics to EMBA students. His undergraduate macroeconomics course is recognized as the National Excellent Course by the Ministry of Education, and his teaching team is recognized as the National Excellent Teaching Team.

Qin Gao is Professor at Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service and Research Associate at the Columbia Population Research Center. She is also an Academic Board Member of the China Institute for Income Distribution, Beijing Normal University, and a Public Intellectual Fellow of the National Committee on United States-China Relations. Dr. Gao’s research examines poverty, income inequality, and social welfare policies and programs in China and their cross-national comparisons. She has published widely in leading interdisciplinary journals such as the China Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary China, Journal of Social Policy, Review of Income and Wealth, Social Service Review, and World Development. Dr. Gao’s forthcoming book, Welfare, Work, and Poverty: China’s Social Assistance 20 Years After (Oxford University Press) evaluates the performance and effectiveness of China’s primary social assistance program, the Minimum Livelihood Guarantee (Dibao), and offers timely policy implications and solutions.

Co-sponsor: Columbia Business School