Lei Zhen
Associate Professor
Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Zhen Lei is currently an Associate Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics at Penn State University. He has expertise in both economics and natural sciences, holding a Ph.D. degree in Agricultural & Resource Economics and a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry. His research program has three major themes: (1) technology and innovation policy and intellectual property rights; (2) energy and environmental economics and policy; and (3) big data and data sciences. He has published papers in top general journals such as Nature and Nature Biotechnology, in top economics field journals including Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Journal of Public Economics and Energy Journal, in top information and data science journals and conferences such as Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, IEEE International Conference on Data Mining (ICDM) and ACM International Conference on Information and Knowledge Management (CIKM), and top technology law journals including Stanford Technology Law Review. His research has been supported by research grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Energy (DOE), and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Statement

It is my great honor and pleasure to be considered as a candidate for the Board of Directors of the Chinese Economist Society (CES). I first joined the Society about ten years ago when I was pursuing my Ph.D. degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley and have benefited from great service provided by CES over these years. As a CES board member, I will endeavor to promote CES as an important platform for scholarly exchanges in economics and related areas among CES members and between the North America and China, for advancement and dissemination of economics and management sciences in China, and for career development of young Chinese economists worldwide.

Hu Yingyao
Professor
Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Yingyao Hu is a professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University, where I have worked since 2007. Before joining Hopkins, I was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin for four years. I am a Hopkins alumnus with an MSE in mathematical science and an MA in economics in 2001, and a PhD in economics in 2003. I have also studied at Michigan State University, Fudan University in Shanghai, and Tsinghua University in Beijing. Before that, I had my pre-college education in Xinjiang, China.

My research interests include micro-econometrics, empirical industrial organization, and labor economics. In micro-econometrics, my research has focused on the nonparametric identification and estimation of measurement error models, mixture models, panel data model with fixed effects or unobserved covariates, and, generally, microeconomic models with latent variables. I am particularly interested in application-oriented econometrics, where the econometric methods are closely integrated with the economic theory or story. In empirical industrial organization, I work on unobserved heterogeneity in auction models, dynamic models with unobserved state variables, belief updating in learning models, estimation of production functions, and dynamic discrete choice with subjective belief. In labor economics, my research has concerned the US unemployment rates after correcting the self-reporting errors in the Current Population Survey, reliable estimates of China’s unemployment rates in a long period, and the impact of hurricanes on the fertility on the east coast of the United States.

I have published in many leading journals in economics and statistics. I am a Fellow of the Journal of Econometrics and have served on the editorial boards of several journals. I was also a co-editor of a Journal of Econometrics special issue on measurement errors.

Statement

I am very happy to be considered as a candidate for the Board of Directors of the Chinese Economist Society. I first joined the Society about twenty years ago when I came to the U.S. for my doctoral study, and have been paying close attention to the development of the Society over the years. As a member of the Board, I hope to promote the academic communication between the colleagues in China and those in the U.S., especially given that the economists in the top two economies should take the responsibility to improve cooperation and communication between the two countries. Meanwhile, as a Chinese economist in the U.S., I feel obligated to confront the discrimination against Chinese in the U.S. academia, not only for future incoming students from China, but also for our next generation in the U.S. I believe the Chinese Economist Society will provide a great platform to achieve these goals.

Chen Bo
Associate Professor
Southern Methodist University

Professor Bo Chen (陈波) is an applied microeconomic theorist with primary research interest on dynamic games and information economics. He has been working at Southern Methodist University since 2007, first as an assistant professor and currently as an associate professor, as well as the director of master’s programs at the economics department. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in economics from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, a master’s degree in economics from University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, and finally a PhD degree in economics from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2007. Over the years after his PhD, he has also visited and/or taught in various universities in mainland China, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Japan, and Germany.

Statement

My name is Bo Chen and I am currently an associate professor of economics at Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX). I am running for the nomination for the board of directors of the Chinese Economists Society.

I grew up in Jiangxi Province of China and previously pursued my academic endeavors chronologically at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, and finally at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Over my academic years, I have benefited tremendously from various Chinese friends and Chinese economists. And it is my intention to return the favor by contributing to and engaging in activities in support of the Chinese community. For example, during my academic time at University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, I was the president of Chinese Student and Scholar Association at the university and my experience there has been important and rewarding to me to this day. The Chinese Economists Society is the largest Chinese academic organization in the US with thousands of registered scholars. This is indeed an ideal platform where one’s community involvement can have maximal impact in helping academic scholars and advancing academic exchanges. It will be an honor for me to serve as a board director for the society.

Zou Ben

Michigan State University

Dr. Ben Zou is an Assistant Professor of economics at Michigan State University, where he teaches labor and urban economics. Ben is an empirical microeconomist with research interests including labor economics, urban economics, and economic development. He is particularly interested in the spatial dimension of China’s economic development. Recent work includes the long-run effects of the Third Front Movement in the 1960s, the spatial distribution of the welfare impacts of E-Commerce, and the incidences of urban transit in China’s fast-growing cities. Before joining MSU, ben received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland at College Par, and a BA and MA from Peking University.

Statement

I am honored to be nominated to the Board of Directors of the Chinese Economists Society for 2019-2020. I am thrilled to work with other members of the Board to serve the larger Chinese economists community.

I have personally benefited a lot from the CES. The 2014 CES North America meeting at Purdue University was the first academic conference I have ever attended. It was a great experience, as a PhD student preparing to go on the job market. Studying at the China Center for Economic Research at Peking University paved my way to academic economics. Many of my professors there had served on CES’s board of director. In fact, the CES played an indispensable way the establishment of CCER in 1994 by connecting young Chinese economists studying abroad. It feels great to be able to contribute my own share of effort in connecting Chinese economists, both in the United States and China.

I am excited to be part of the CES programs: its China annual conference, North America meeting, CES/AEA joint sessions, Gregory-Paula Chow Teaching Fellowship, and Gregory-Paula Chow Best Paper Awards. As a junior member of the academic economics, it is a valuable experience for me to be on the organizing side. I look forward to seeing a lot of you at these events!

Zhang Jianhua
Professor
Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Dr. ZHANG Jianhua is a Professor and Dean of the School of Economics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST). He got his bachelor’s degree in computer science and MA in Economics at HUST, and Ph. D. in Economics at Wuhan University in 1996. In 1998, he was a visiting professor at University of Abertay Dundee in UK, under the support of the EU-China Higher Education Cooperation Program. From 2001 to 2008, he served as director of the humanities and social sciences research department at HUST. At present, he is the university professor and fellow of the academic committee at HUST. Since 2011, he has been the director of Peikang Chang Institute for Development Economics Studies. He also has held many leadership roles in social services including consultant member of Hubei Provincial government, consultant expert of China International Poverty Alleviation Foundation, and vice president of the Society for Development Economics in China.

Professor Zhang has been engaged in the research of development economics and industrial economics. He has 30 years of teaching and research experience. He has led several research projects funded by the National Social Science Fund of China, such as "Research on Industrial Structure Optimization and Upgrading Driven by Innovation" (12&ZD045), "Research on Industrial Structure Optimization and Upgrading of New Industrialization Road" (06&ZD035), and “The Implementation of New Development Ideas and Modernization of State Governance"(17VZL002); he has also been funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China for the project "Measurement of Urban Poverty and Assessment of Anti-Poverty Policy in China's Transitional Period" (70473025), among others.

Professor Zhang has published dozens of papers in academic journals such as Chinese Social Sciences, Economic Research, Economics (Quarterly), World Economy, Financial Research and Economics Letters. He has also published several books including “Innovation Incentive and Economic Development” (2000), "Innovation and Application of Enterprise Network Organization in the Process of Industrialization" (2005), “Development Economics” (2009), "Research on Industrial Structure Optimization and Upgrading Based on New Industrialization Road" (2012) and many other works. His research achievements have won the second prize of the Ministry of Education Social Science Excellent Achievement Award and the first prize of Hubei Excellent Social Science Achievement Award. Under his leadership, a number of important achievements have been accomplished. A team of industrial research has been formed. It not only has done a long-term in-depth study on the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure and the transformation of the mode of economic development, but also has produced considerable results in the field of innovation research. In addition, he has also completed the regional and industrial development planning projects in China.

In recent years, under professor Zhang’s leadership, more than ten faculty members have been recruited to join HUST, all of whom got their PhDs from North American universities.

Statement

The Chinese Economists Society (CES) is a leading academic organization that supports Chinese scholars in economics and promotes studies of the Chinese economy. Over the years, at the School of Economics, my colleagues and I have hosted the visits of many CES members and leaders. We have benefited a lot from the interaction and collaboration with CES members. I appreciate this opportunity of joining the CES Board of Directors and contributing more directly to the organization. I am particularly interested in helping organize the CES annual conferences in China. I look forward to working with all of you in the near future.

Zheng Siqi

MIT

Dr. Siqi Zheng is the Samuel Tak Lee Associate Professor at Department of Urban Studies and Planning, and Center for Real Estate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (http://siqizheng.mit.edu ). She established MIT China Future City Lab (https://cfclab.mit.edu/ ) and is the faculty director of her Lab (http://news.mit.edu/2018/faculty-profile-siqi-zheng-0703 ). Prof. Zheng is the current President of Asian Real Estate Society (2018-2019). She is the Associated Editor of China Economic Review, Journal of Regional Science, Journal of Economic Surveys, and is on the editorial board of Journal of Housing Economics and International Real Estate Review. Prof. Zheng’s field of specialization is urban and environmental economics, with a special focus on China, including the economics of green cities, place-based investment and policy (new planned cities and transportation infrastructure), urban network and vibrancy. She published in many peer reviewed English journals including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Human Behaviour, and the Journal of Economic Literature, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Journal of Economic Geography, European Economic Review, Journal of Urban Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Transportation Research Part A, Environment and Planning A, Ecological Economics, Journal of Regional Science, Real Estate Economics, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics. A book she has co-authored with Matthew Kahn, Blue Skies over Beijing: Economic Growth and the Environment in China (Princeton University Press) was published in 2016. She has also published more than 100 papers and two books in Chinese. Dr. Zheng has completed or been undertaking research projects granted or entrusted by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, among others. She received her Ph.D. in urban development and real estate from Tsinghua University in 2005, and did her post-doc research at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. Prior to coming to MIT, she was a professor and the director of Hang Lung Center for Real Estate at Tsinghua University, China, where she still holds an adjunct professor position now.

Statement

It would be my great honor to have an opportunity to serve The Chinese Economist Society (CES)!

Li Qi
Professor
Agnes Scott College

Li Qi is a professor of Economics at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, GA. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, and joined the faculty after completing a Freeman Foundation postdoctoral research fellowship at Columbia University. Her research focuses on China’s economy, as well as behavioral and experimental economics and finance. Her work has appeared in leading academic journals such as Review of Finance, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, China Economic Review, Journal of Financial Markets, Business Ethics Quarterly, among other journals. She has also contributed to book chapters and written for non-academic audiences. Li Qi is the recipient of the 2012-2013 Fulbright Senior Research Award, and the 2018-2019 Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Social Sciences Award, which not only furthered her study on China, but also allowed her to initiate research collaborations between Chinese and American scholars and institutions. She has received financial support for her research from National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, NBER, Mellon Foundation, AsiaNetwork, Freeman Foundation, Ronald Coase Institute etc. Finally, she has extensive administrative experience managing various academic units and committees.

Li QI Statement: I am honored to be a nominee for the position of the CES President-Elect. I have participated in various academic and professional organizations, but I find myself impressed most with the CES officers’ dedication to its mission and its members. If elected, I will strive to continue this valued tradition of service to this organization.

The benefits I received from organizations like CES for research and career development played an important role in my own academic career. I am eager to return a contribution to CES, which operates several programs I am passionate about, including the CES-Chow Teaching Fellowships, publication opportunities for conference participants, the pilot professional development program, among others.

The signature programs of the president’s forum and annual conferences have always attracted academic and media attention, as well as strong attendance in the past. This type of active academic engagement with our core members from both China and the U.S. is especially valuable under the current political and economic environment. I have confidence to secure competent American and Chinese hosts to continue these signature events, through the academic network I have established over years of collaborations with a diverse pool of American and Chinese colleagues.

CES is a dynamic organization, operating in a dynamic world which presents various types of challenges. My work as a board director in 2017-2018 offered me unique opportunities to observe first-hand potential difficulties we will face moving forward. For example, how do we maintain our status to achieve CES’ mission with increased competitions from other channels (such as online media, and very versatile mobile platforms) which also offer a wide array of academic exchange activities? How do we continue to grow our membership base in this environment? If elected, I would like to explore solutions to these challenges with my board directors.

I look forward to bringing my passion, expertise and administrative experience to CES to enhance its programs and broaden opportunities for its members!