Discussion by Zhiwu Chen, Professor of Management, Yale School of Management, explores the determinants of China’s economic growth with Keith Abell and Salieh Neftci as discussants.

In the last 15 years China’s economy has been catapulting forward at a tremendous rate. Much is said about where it is going, but what are the root causes behind this growth? Why the recent “reform and open door policy” succeeded while those in the Qing and republican years did not? Why institutions matter despite China’s growth experience in the past 30 years? What “capitalization and financialization” lessons to learn from China’s experience?

Zhiwu Chen is an expert on finance theory, securities valuation, emerging markets, and China’s economy and capital markets. Dr. Chen is a frequent contributor to top economics and finance journals with research papers ranging from novel means of valuing stocks and pricing options, to studies of foreign exchange, market integration, mutual funds and profitable investment strategies. In the last few years, Dr. Chen has been actively doing research on market development and institution-building issues in the context of China’s transition process and other emerging markets. What institutions are necessary for markets to develop? What roles do financial innovations play in a country’s economic development process? These are among the issues which Dr. Chen’s research focuses on. Dr. Chen’s work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Barron’s, Far-Eastern Economic Review, and many newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong and China. He is also a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines in China, on economic policy and legal reform issues.

Moderated by Benjamin Lee, Provost.

Co-sponsored with Graduate Program for International Affairs.