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Justin Yifu Lin delivers 35th BSE Lecture
Leading Chinese economist, Justin Yifu Lin (Peking University, BSE Scientific Council), discussed if China will continue to be a growth engine in the world, as part of the BSE Lecture series.
The second BSE Lecture of this academic year was held at The Banc Sabadell Auditorium on May 2, delivered by Professor Justin Yifu Lin (Peking University, BSE Scientific Council). Prof. Lin spoke about the future role of China and if it will continue to drive global economic growth.
Prof. Lin provided a unique opportunity for the BSE community “to hear from a man who understands the economies of both developed and developing countries, whilst also being recognised by both” commented Prof. Teresa Garcia-Mila, Director of the BSE. She continued by saying that “we are very fortunate to have someone speak as part of the BSE lecture series who not only has a strong academic background, but has also been involved in policy work with the World Bank and advising the Chinese Government”.
The lecture was introduced by Mr. Cirus Andreu (Assistant General Manager, Banc Sabadell) who expressed that “after a decade of China being the most important engine of global economic growth, fears surrounding its future have recently emerged”.
Prof. Lin addressed the audience by suggesting that if China is to continue as a growth engine of the world, “we need to answer the question of whether China has a good investment opportunity or not? If China has a good investment opportunity then you continue to have investment growth and then you can improve the labor productivity. This will improve income and everything will be fine”. He continued by saying that “China still has a lot of good investment opportunities”.
Prof. Lin explained that China already has a high growth rate in investment and as a result, jobs will be created. This in turn will maintain household income and this type of investment will improve labor productivity. Prof. Lin also stated that “if you put the investment growth rate and the consumption growth rate together, I am quite confident that China will continue to contribute about 30% or more growth every year to the global growth in years to come. This should be good news for everyone in the world”.
A short video of the lecture highlights can be found below:
Media Coverage:
- “La Contra” Interview, La Vanguardia
- The Voice: Special talk for master’s students by Justin Yifu Lin on “New Structural Economics”