The Two-Day Workshop on Current Advances of Research in Macroeconomics and Financial Markets at UK Campus of PHBS
On the 30th and 31st May 2022, a two-day workshop on current advances of research in macroeconomics and financial market was successfully held at the UK Campus of Peking University HSBC Business School (PHBS UK). The workshop was sponsored by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Peking University HSBC Business School (PHBS) under the support of the School of Economics of UCL and the Sargent Institute of Quantitative Economics and Finance of Peking University.
More than 50 audience attended the workshop in person and online from the UK, the US and China. Professor Pengfei Wang, the Dean of PHBS, an international leading economist in macroeconomic research, started the workshop with open remarks. Professor Wang introduced the audience to PHBS and the Sargent Institute. He emphasized the impact of macroeconomic research on policy making and the significance of the workshop in a world facing macroeconomic challenges.
Nobel Laureate, Professor Thomas J. Sargent, the Director of the Sargent Institute for Quantitative Economics and Finance at PHBS, delivered a lunch keynote speech on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on human life. He pointed out AI as a computerized process of implementing algorithms to facilitate scientific discoveries in mathematics, statistics, economics, physics, and biology. He pointed out that data are essential for AI to make discoveries.
In the evening, Professor John Moore at London School of Economics and Edinburgh University, Fellow of the British Academy and Royal Society of Edinburgh, a former president of the Econometric Society, gave a dinner keynote speech on ‘Key Workers and Funding Horizons’. He developed a model of funding horizons in which human capital of entrepreneurs-cum-engineers is essential for constructing and then maintaining production facilities. Yet, their human capital is inalienable. He showed that funding horizons can be shorter than investment horizons in this environment. The duration gap implies that a low world real interest rate can stagnate long-run growth by increasing the net cost of investment.
Professor Kjetil Storesletten at University of Minnesota, a former president of European Economic Association, was the first speaker of the workshop after Professor Wang’s opening remark. He presented his research on “Serial Entrepreneurship in China”. He found that there is a considerable number of Chinese entrepreneurs who start new productive businesses repeatedly. These serial entrepreneurs contribute to the continued growth of the Chinese economy.
In the two-day workshop, many other distinguished economists presented their research including Professor Yongseok Shin from Washington University in St Louis, Professor Anastasios Karantounias from University of Surrey, Professor Marco Bassetto from UCL and Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Professor Rachel Ngai from LSE, Professor Guillaume Rocheteau from University of California, and Professor Franck Portier from UCL.
The organizers of the workshop, Professor Wei Cui of UCL and Professor Shengxing Zhang of LSE, would like to extend their big thanks to all discussants who presented their excellent comments to the presentation of the speakers.
As the host of the workshop, Professor Guy Liu of PHBS, truly appreciates all speakers, discussants, and attendees for their contribution to the event which brings valuable research, insights and comments on the current study in macroeconomics and financial markets. It is through knowledge sharing and peer interaction that we truly grow as researchers. We wish all researchers big success in their future endeavors.
Our last note of appreciation is to the members of the UK Campus of Peking University, who have worked tirelessly to ensure its success. We extend our gratitude to Jacqueline O’Brien and all the rest of PHBS UK staff members for their tremendously hard and efficient work to the workshop.
It was a wonderful and intellectually stimulating two days and we look forward more conferences of such caliber and academic rigor in the following years to come.
