Xiamen University holds Asian Meeting of Econometric Society

chinadaily.com.cn| Updated: Jun 18, 2019

The 2019 Asian Meeting of Econometric Society commenced at Xiamen University, Fujian province, June 14. [Photo/xmu.edu.cn]

The curtain rose for the 2019 Asian Meeting of Econometric Society at Xiamen University, Fujian province, June 14.

It was the first time for the annual meeting to be held in a Chinese mainland university after being held in South Korea, India, Singapore and Japan, as well as several other countries and regions.

Xiamen University's School of Economics, Wang Yanan Institute for Studies in Economics, and Gregory and Paula Chow Center for Economic Research co-organized the meeting.

Zhang Rong, president of Xiamen University, makes an opening speech during the Asian Meeting of Econometric Society, June 14. [Photo/xmu.edu.cn]

"The Econometric Society is one of the most influential professional societies in the field of global economics, and the Asian Meeting is the society's most important academic ceremony in the Asia-Pacific region," said Zhang Rong, president of Xiamen University. "It is not just an honor to hold this meeting, but also a valuable learning and exchange opportunity for the development of economics as a field of study at our university."

According to the organizers, some heavyweights in the field of econometrics were invited to deliver keynote speeches during the 3-day meeting, including two Nobel laureates in economics -- James J. Heckman and Thomas J. Sargent.

A total of 189 sub-meetings discussing applied economics, theoretical economics and statistics were held over the course of the three days, drawing more than 700 people from across the world.

For the first time ever, a special forum for female economists was held to help solve the difficulties and challenges faced by Asian female economists.

The Econometric Society is an international academic group. Founded in 1930, the society has gathered many top economists from around the world. Most of the past Nobel Prize winners in economics were members of the society.