International Master Programs at WISE & SOE, Xiamen University

Academic Exchange and Cooperation

1. 2005 Econometrics Training Summer School

The 2005 WISE Econometrics Summer School was held at XMU from, July 18 -22, 2005. From more than 600 applicants, 300 were selected, including PhD students, MSc students, and faculty members from various domestic universities. Many internationally renowned scholars delivered lectures on recent developments in economic theory and application. Invited lecturers include: Songnian Chen, Professor of Economics at Hong Kong University of Science & Technology and Adjunct Professor of WISE; Jerry A. Hausman, 1985 John Bates Clark Medal Winner and Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Yongmiao Hong, Cheung Kong Scholar and Professor of Economics & Statistics at Cornell University; Cheng Hsiao, Co-editor of the Journal of Econometrics and Professor of Economics at University of Southern California; Chung-Ming Kuan, Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Taiwan .

1. International Symposium on Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy and Economic Growth

In December 2005, jointly with the Department of Public Finance and the Department of Finance, WISE organized an International Symposium on Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy and Economic Growth. The invited speakers were Professor Gregory Chow from Princeton University; Professor Ziji Deng and Professor Yichun Zhang from XMU. The symposium consisted of two keynote presentations and six special sessions delivered by twelve overseas scholars from the USA, the UK, Australia, Singapore and Canada. Chinese participants came from Peking University, Renmin University of China, the Central University of Finance and Economics, Nankai University, Shandong University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, the Southwest University of Finance and Economics, the Chinese Academy of Science, the State Administration of Taxation, and XMU.

1. 2006 International Symposium on Econometric Theory and Application (SETA 2006) (Recent Development in Time Series Econometrics with Applications to Macroeconomics and Financial Markets)

From April 4_6, 2006, the 2006 International Symposium on Econometric Theory and Applications(SETA 2006), the second in a series with the first conference held at Academia Sinica Taiwan, was organized by WISE at XMU to discuss and explore recent developments in time series econometrics and their applications in macroeconomics, finance and financial econometrics. The conference attracted researchers from seventeen countries and regions including the USA, the UK, Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Turkey, Kuwait, South Korea, Singapore, as well as, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China. The participants included Sir Clive W. J. Granger, 2003 Nobel Laureate in economics and Professor emeritus of UCSD; Professor Wolfgang H?rdle from Humboldt University, Germany; Professor Cheng Hsiao from University of Southern California and Editor of the Journal of Econometrics; Professor S?ren Johansen from Copenhagen University, Denmark; Professor Peter C.B. Phillips from Yale University and Editor of Econometric Theory; Professor Timo Ter?svirta from Aarhus University, Denmark, Sweden; Professor Dag Tj?stheim from University of Bergen, Norway, as well as representatives from SAS Ltd.? These distinguished scholars have made enormous contributions to the literature of econometrics and finance, including the study of unit roots and co-integration, long memory, and non-linear and non-parametric time series analysis. Some domestic Chinese participants, including Professor Shouyang Wang from the Chinese Academy of Science, Professor Tongsan Wang from the Chinese Academy of Social Science and Professor Zhenquan Zhao from the Center for Quantitative Economics of Jilin University, also made important contributions to the success of the conference.

1. 2006 International Symposium on Financial Engineering and Risk Management (FERM2006)

The 2006 International Symposium on Financial Engineering and Risk Management was held from July 5_6, 2006. It was jointly sponsored by WISE and the Chinese Academy of Science Center for Statistics.
Over 100 international academics from influential institutions in USA, UK, Canada, Switzerland, India, Taiwan, and Mainland China, participated, including Professor Nicholas M. Kiefer from the Department of Economics and Statistics of Cornell University, USA; Professor Eric Ghysels, former editor of the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics; and Professor Per A. Mykaland, from the Department of Statistics at the University of Chicago, USA. Recent developments were actively discussed and explored along with a diversified poster session with 18 high-quality posters covering a wide range of subjects in theoretical and empirical finance.

1. 2006 Summer School of Econometrics and Financial Econometrics for Postgraduates

Sponsored by the Ministry of Education, the 2006 Summer School of Econometrics and Financial Econometrics for Postgraduates was held by WISE at XMU from July 14 to August 13, 2006. The summer school was attended by 230 students from renowned domestic universities as well as from overseas academic institutions. For one month, students were exposed to 132 hours of lectures and 10 seminars. The lectures were divided into six courses: time series, non-parametric and semi-parametric analysis, financial econometrics, spatial econometrics, panel data, and advanced econometrics, respectively. Ten internationally established econometricians and statisticians were responsible for teaching the courses: Anil Bera, Zongwu Cai, Jianqing Fan, Yongmiao Hong, Chung-Ming Kuan, Kajal Lahiri, Tae-Hwy Lee, Haitao Li, Maozu Lu, and Aman Ullah. The 10 seminars were presented by Shaoan Huang, Cheng Hsiao, Yoonjin Lee, Chenghu Ma, Shinong Wu, and Yichun Zhang. During the summer school, WISE also hosted several workshops, four teatime gatherings, and two dinner parties.
By hosting this summer school, WISE not only provided a platform for Chinese academic talents to digest current developments in econometrics and financial econometrics, but also equipped them with an international outlook, which should enhance their further studies. As a strategic step of XMU into the worldwide academic community, the summer school was as successful as the 1980 Summer Palace Workshop and established itself as another landmark in the history of Chinese econometrics. In August 2006, the summer school received a special compliment at the national working conference of the Ministry of Education.

1. 2006 International Symposium on Contemporary Labor Economics (LABOR 2006)

The 2006 International Symposium on Contemporary Labor Economics was sponsored and organized by WISE and held from December 16–18, 2006 at XMU. The symposium’s theme was Labor Markets, Mobilization and Economic Development in a Harmonious Society with particular reference to Chinese labor markets. Among the invited speakers and participants were leading labor economists from many international institutions, including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Southern Methodist University, Cornell University, the University of California, the University of Southern California, the University of Illinois and the Brookings Institution, the London School of Economics, University College, London, the University of Southampton, the University of Bonn, Uppsala University, the Australian National University, Monash University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the National University of Singapore, and Academia Sinica. Many of the leading domestic institutions were represented,including the Chinese Academy of Science, the National Bureau of Statistics, Peking University, Renmin University, Beijing Normal University, Fudan University, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Shandong University, and the Capital University of Economics and Business. The participants included Professor Richard Freeman from Harvard University, Professor Jerry Hausman from MIT, Professor Cheng Hsiao from the University of Southern California, Professor Bertil Holmlund from Uppsala University, Professor Chung-Ming Kuan from Academia Sinica, Professor Xianchuan XU from the Chinese National Statistics Bureau, Professor John Whalley from the University of Western Ontario, Professor Esfandiar Maasoumi from Southern Methodist University, Professor Costas Meghir from UCL, and others. The symposium aimed to promote recent developments in labor economics and microeconometrics, and facilitate research in these areas in China. Many participants including some high-profiled leading experts paid tribute to the organizing committee for the success of the symposium.

1. 2007 Asia-Pacific Futures Research Symposium (APFRS 2007)

WISE and the Antai School of Economics & Management of Shanghai Jiaotong University (SJTU) co-hosted the 2007 Asia-Pacific Futures Research Symposium (APFRS 2007) in Pudong, Shanghai from March 1–2, 2007, a joint initiative with the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). The symposium was characterized by the participation of experts from a wide range of backgrounds including professional traders, officials of supervisory bodies, and academics. It stimulated new collaboration between WISE and SJTU. The first APFRS took place in Hong Kong in 1990, and APFRS 2007 was the first symposium held in mainland China.

1. 2007 International Conference on Panel Data

Approved by the Scientific Committee of the International Conference of Panel Data, WISE hosted the 14th International Conference on Panel Data from July 16–18, 2007. This was the first time since the 1960s that the conference was held outside Europe or North America. The conference highlighted the theoretical and empirical frontiers of research on panel data analysis and facilitated applications to the Chinese context. WISE was proud to host an international conference of such eminence, and considers this as recognition of its reputation. Invited speakers to the conference were leading econometricians in panel data econometrics, including Professor Jerry A. Hausman, 1985 John Bates Clark Award winner from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Professor Cheng Hsiao from the University of Southern California and Co-editor of the Journal of Econometrics, Professor Whitney Newey from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), co-editor of Econometrica, Professor Hashem Pesaran from the University of Cambridge, Co-editor of the Journal of Applied Econometrics, Professor Peter C.B.Philips from Yale University and Editor of Econometric Theory. The organizing committee received 150 papers from 19 countries. The 3-day conference included four keynote sessions and seven parallel sessions, with presentations of 75 papers. In addition, a round-table discussion was organized to discuss future trends in the development of panel data econometrics.

1. 2007 International Summer Workshop on Econometrics and Finance

Co-organized by WISE and Center for Forecasting Science (CEFS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the 2007 International Summer Workshop on Econometrics and Finance (IWEF2007) was held at XMU from July 19–24, 2007. With help from Journal of Econometrics, the workshop provided postgraduates and young lecturers an insight into the frontiers of econometrics and finance. The participants included renowned lecturers from Cornell University, UC Riverside, the University of Illinois, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the University of Southern California, the University of Portland, USA, Humboldt University, Germany, as well as XMU and CAS. By this collaborative project, WISE and CEFS seek to fully utilize their respective strengths, thus benefiting modern economic studies, intensifying international academic links, and contributing to the innovation and development of economic and financial research in China.

1. 2007 International Symposium on Contemporary Labor Economics ( LABOR 2007)

Following the success of the 2006 symposium, the 2007 International Symposium on Contemporary Labor Economics was held on December 8–9, 2007 at XMU. The themes of this year’s symposium were labor market dynamics and poverty. The purpose of holding an annual labor economics symposium is to introduce and promote the modern methodology of labor economics to Chinese academics and policy makers, to bring current Chinese labor market issues to the attention of overseas researchers, and to provide a platform for overseas and Chinese labor economists to exchange ideas in general.

1. 2007 Sino-Korean Econometrics Workshop

Organized by the Korean Econometrics Study Group and WISE, with main sponsorship from the Bank of Korea, the first Sino-Korean Econometrics Workshop was successfully held at Qunxian Auditorium, XMU from December 13–14, 2007. Professor Yongmiao Hong from Cornell University and WISE and Professor Yoon-jae Whang, from Seoul National University, Korea, both delivered an opening speech. The theme of the workshop was “Econometric Theory and its General Application”. All faculties at WISE participated in the workshop as well as members of the Korean Econometrics Study Group, who came from top Korean institutions such as Seoul National University, Korean University, Yonsei University, Sungkyunkwan University and the Bank of Korea. Guest speakers invited to the workshop included Professor Cheng Hsiao from the University of Southern California and Co-editor of the Journal of Econometrics, Professor Chung-Ming Kuan from Academia Sinica , and Professor Joon Y. Park from Texas A&M University. In addition, scholars from University of Maryland, Portland University, and Victoria University of Wellington addressed the audience. The Korean Econometrics Study Group, one of the two hosts for this workshop, has organized annual workshop across large towns in Korea since its establishment in 1994.

1. The 2008 Economics and Finance workshop of Xiamen-Humboldt University

The 2008 Economics and Finance workshop co-hosted by WISE and Humboldt University was held on April 10-11,2008. Faculty and Students from both parts participated in the workshop. Professor Wolfgang Hardle and Professor Bert-Arne Wickstrom also gave a speech on behalf of Humboldt University. The workshop included paper presentation and discussion, which covers the research filed Econometrics, Finance, labor economics etc. Totally 17 papers were presented on the conference. As the first Joint academic activity for XMU-Humboldt University, the workshop has successfully opened a new page of long-term academic exchanges and cooperation from then on. The second workshop supposed to be held in Berlin in 2010 .

1. The 2008 International Conference on the Latest Development of Time Series Econometrics

This Seminar was co-hosted by WISE, Center for Forecasting Science (CEFS) of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Journal of Econometrics at XMU on May 10-11, 2008. The topic of the two-day conference was “Nonlinear time Series Econometric Theory and its Application in Economics and Finance”. The delegates came from the US, Australia, the UK, Germany, Korea, Chinese Mainland and Taiwan, including Professor Anil Bera from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign，Professor Cheng Hsiao from the University of Southern California, Professor Joon Park from Texas A&M University, Professor Peter Robinson from the London School of Economics and Professor George Tauchen from Duke University. During the conference, participants studied and discussed the history and future of non-linear panel data models, continuous time series models, long memory time series models, non-stationary time series models, and finance time series models.

1. The Fifth Asian General Equilibrium Theory Workshop (GETA2008)

WISE held the Fifth Asian General Equilibrium Theory Workshop (GETA2008) at XMU on August 4-6, 2008. It was the first time for this highly authoritative conference to take place in Mainland China.
The GETA was officially started in 2004 to complement the successful General Equilibrium Theory workshops held in Europe and North America. As a highly authoritative conference, GETA does not limit itself to general equilibrium theory, but also gives some attention to the hot spots of Asian economic growth and the empirical studies in related fields. It is planned to hold an Asian General Equilibrium Theory Workshop in different major cities of Asia annually. In the last four years it has been held in Kyoto, Tokyo, Taipei and Singapore. The purpose of GETA2008 was to provide a venue for researchers working on general equilibrium theory to present their current works and hence to contribute to the further development of relative fields. Thereby, GETA2008 invited international renowned scholars to deliver lectures on the conference. Furthermore, the outstanding papers presented at GETA2008 will be published in the international leading academic journal, Journal of Mathematical Economics, together with papers presented from the European and North American general equilibrium theory workshops.

1. The Sixth HKIMR Conference on the Mainland Economy held by WISE and HKIMR

The 6th conference on mainland China’s economy was held by HKIMR and WISE on October 16-17, 2008. The theme of the meeting, “The Efficiency and Stability in Mainland China’s Financial System”, covered various topics on mainland China’s economy and financial system that were particularly important at a time of financial crisis. About 30 economists and professionals attended the meeting, who are from institutions including Tsinghua University, Beijing University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Hong Kong’s Lingnan University, the International Monetary Fund, the Bank for International Settlements, the Peoples Bank of China, Shanghai Stock Exchange, Shanghai Financial Services Office, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong Monetary Authority and XMU. 

1. 2008 International Symposium on Contemporary Labor Economics

The 2008 Symposium on Contemporary Labor Economics was held at WISE on December 12-13, 2008. The Symposium provides an open platform to bring together scholars from around the world to present research and to stimulate discussions on new developments in contemporary labor economics. This has been the third international Labor conference held at WISE since 2006.
About 50 scholars and researchers from home and abroad participated in the event. Keynote speakers include: Joonmo Cho, Sungkyunkwan University, Republic of Korea; John Kennan, University of Wisconsin Madison; Craig Riddell, University of British Columbia; Steven Stern, University of Virginia; and Xiangquan Zeng, Renmin University of China.  The conference covers a wide range of themes on labor economics: East Asian labor markets, the Chinese labor market, labor demand and discrimination, transition and agglomeration, immigration and immigrants, parents and children, program evaluation in China, inequality and income distribution, community and poverty, minimum wage and income risk, harmonious society and happiness in China, etc.

1. Advanced Economics Seminar Series

The “WISE Advanced Economics Seminar Series” was established in May 2005 in an endeavor to provide a platform for international exchange and facilitation for academic collaboration. Among the speakers there have been many distinguished scholars from all over the world. Below is a partial list of speakers who have visited WISE in 2005-2008:

Anil K. Bera	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, U.S.A.
Loren Brandt	University of Toronto, Canada
Gregory Chow	Princeton University, U.S. A.
Bernard Cornet	The U of Kansas, USA and Universite de Paris 1, France
Richard Freeman	Harvard University, U.S.A.
Eric Ghysels	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, U.S.A.
Clive Granger	UC-San Diego, U.S.A.
Robert Gregory	The Australian National University, Australia
Wolfgang H?rdle	Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
Jerry Hausman	Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S.A.
Lawrence Kahn	Cornell University , U.S.A.
John Kennan	University of Wisconsin Madison, U.S.A.
Nicholas Kiefer	Cornell University , U.S.A.
Jan Kiviet	University of Amsterdam, Holland
Peter Kuhn	University of California, Santa Barbara, U.S.A.
Kwangsuk Lee	Sungkyunkwan University, Korea
Olivier Linton	London School of Economics, UK
Mark Machina	University of California, San Diego
Jan Magnus	Tilburg University, Holland
Joon ?Park	Texas A&M University, Sungkyunkwan University,
Peter Phillips	Yale University, U.S.A.
Thomas Rawski	University of Pittsburgh, U.S.A.
Assaf ?Razin	Cornell University, U.S.A.
Craig Riddell	University of British Columbia , UK
Peter Robinson	London School of Economics, UK
John Karl Scholz	University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A.
Steven Stern	University of Virginia, U.S. A.
George Tauchen	Duke University, U.S.A.
Timo Terasvirta????????????????????????????????????????????	University of Aarhus, Denmark???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Aman Ullah	University of California, Riverside, U.S.A.
John Whalley	University of Western Ontario, Canada
Arnold Zellner	University of Chicago, U.S. A.
Klaus Zimmermann	IZA, DIW Berlin, University of Bonn, Free University of Berlin and CEPR London

1. IZA/WISE Joint Seminar Series

As part of the WISE labor economics research program, this initiative allows WISE faculty and students in Xiamen, China to virtually participate in the weekly lunch seminar of the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) held in Bonn, Germany. Through a video conference system, the audience in WISE can not only watch presentations and discussions in IZA’s conference room, but can also ask questions to the presenters there. The first joint seminar was successfully held on December 12 2006, when IZA Senior Research Associate Douglas J. Krupka presented his paper, “Heterogeneous Moving Costs and Compensating Differentials.” From 2007 January onwards, this has been a regular event in IZA and WISE.

1. WISE Luncheon Seminar

From the Fall semester of 2007，WISE hosts a featured “Luncheon Seminar” for graduate students with an interest in econometrics and related fields. The seminar, initiated by Professor Sungyong Park, is held every Friday at noon. The seminar provides an informal platform for discussing and exchanging research topics and ideas among students and faculty in a relaxed atmosphere. The students are encouraged to talk about their research topics and communicate actively with their peers and faculty. This creates an atmosphere where faculty can answer students’ questions and offer useful academic advice.

1. Young Scholar Forum

Since 2005, WISE has been organizing and hosting a weekly series of the “Young Scholar Forum” which aims to promote and facilitate discussion among young scholars and research students. The forum is designed to mimic real academic presentations and debate by including discussants’ comments after presentations. This provides a valuable platform for young scholars and students to exchange their views and listen to faculty members’ comments and suggestions.

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