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HKU School of Economics & Finance's “Technology and the Economy”Public Lecture Series

21 May 2001

In celebration of the 90th anniversary of the University of Hong Kong, the School of Economics and Finance and the Hong Kong Institute of Economics and Business Strategy are hosting a series of five public lectures by prominent economists on the theme “Technology and the Economy”. The speakers have done seminal work on the impact of technology on the economy and will bring with them a wealth of insights. The talks are of topical interest and relevance to Hong Kong.

Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Harvard University will present the third lecture on “Technology and Economic Growth in Asia”. The lecture will be held on Friday, May 25, 2001 at 5:30 p.m. at the Rayson Huang Theatre of the University's main campus.

Asia's economic future depends on its capacity to innovate and to bring those innovations to the market. While a few countries in Asia have become dynamic innovators, most others still rely almost exclusively on importing technologies from abroad. This lecture will both examine Asia's potential for science-based innovation and describe the kinds of institutional changes in Asia that could yield much greater scientific and technological advancement in the region.

Jeffrey Sachs is the Director of the Center for International Development, the Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade at Harvard University, former Director of the Harvard Institute for International Development, and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He serves as an economic advisor to several governments in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa and Asia. He was cited in The New York Times
Magazine as “probably the most important economist in the world” and in a Time Magazine issue on 50 promising young leaders as “the world's best-known economist.” A recipient of many awards and honors, he is the author of more than a hundred scholarly articles and books, including Macroeconomics in the Global Economy (co-author) and Poland's Jump to the Market Economy. He received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Harvard College in 1976, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1978 and 1980 respectively. He joined the Harvard faculty as an Assistant Professor in 1980, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1982 and Full Professor in 1983.

The titles of the last two lectures of the series, which will also be held at the Rayson Huang Theatre at HKU, are as follows:

 “Education Matters: Education and the New Economy”
Professor Alan Krueger, Princeton University
June 12, 2001 (Tuesday)
5:30 to 6:30 pm

 “The New Economy and the Stock Market”
Professor Boyan Jovanovic, University of Chicago and New York University
June 19, 2001 (Tuesday)
5:30 to 6:30 pm

Members of the Press and interested public are cordially invited to attend. Admission to the public lecture series is free of charge but registration is requested. For further information regarding this public lecture series, please contact Ms Mabel Woo, HKU's School of Economics and Finance, at mabel@econ.hku.hk or 2859 2192.