SHENZHEN, China, Jan. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The inaugural PHBS-IER Conference, jointly organized by Peking University HSBC Business School (PHBS) and the International Economic Review (IER), held at PHBS from December 22 to 23. Centered on the theme "Financial Frictions for Firms and Households: Implications for Economic Development and Government Policies," this two-day event brought together an impressive assembly of over 130 senior professors and emerging scholars from prestigious universities worldwide, including Princeton University, The University of Pennsylvania, Boston University, The University of Southern California, Emory University, University College London , The Chinese University of Hong Kong , Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, and Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.
The group photo of the participants
One of the most anticipated moments of the conference was the keynote address delivered by Nobel laureate Thomas Sargent. In his presentation titled "Fiscal Consequences of the US War on COVID," Professor Sargent traced the evolution of US fiscal and monetary policy from the 19th to the 21st century. He noted that such crises like the long-term impact of wars on fiscal and monetary policy, often lead to fiscal deficits, significant price volatility, and enduring institutional changes. Furthermore, he discussed the complex interactions between fiscal, monetary, and tax policies, particularly emphasizing the role of "game theory" in shaping policymaker decisions. He underscored the importance of "budget constraints," "coordination between monetary and fiscal policies," and "power distribution" in managing these challenges.
Other notable presentations covered a broad range of topics and fields within economics. These included research on the impact of multinational corporations on technology development and innovation, investigations into the reallocation and pricing of illiquid capital in financial markets, and explorations of the effects of low interest rates on inflation and debt rollover.
The conference received a total of 211 high-quality paper contributions through an open call for submissions. Among these, eight were ultimately selected for inclusion, six of which were featured in a Special Issue of the IER. Leveraging this opportunity, PHBS and IER aim to deepen their collaboration, establishing an annual exchange platform that will ignite research vitality, promote high-level economic research, and contribute valuable insights to the advancement of economics in Asia and across the globe.