Wang Siyu
Associate Professor
Villanova University

Bio

Siyu Wang is an Associate Professor of Economics at Villanova University. Her research uses behavioral and experimental economics to study how information, beliefs, social identity, and institutions shape individual decision-making. Before joining Villanova, she served as Chair of the Department of Economics at Wichita State University and worked as a behavioral economist at Ford Motor Company. She is actively involved in mentoring students and junior scholars, organizing academic seminars and conferences, and promoting research collaboration and academic exchange across institutions and countries. Her work has been published in Games and Economic Behavior, Experimental Economics, European Economic Review, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Southern Economic Journal, Public Choice, AEA Papers and Proceedings, Ecological Economics, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Managerial and Decision Economics, Journal of Economic Psychology, and Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics, among others.

Statement

I am honored to be considered for the Board of Directors of the Chinese Economists Society (CES). As a scholar who works on economic topics in both China and the United States, I deeply value CES’s role in connecting economists across countries, institutions, and fields, and in creating opportunities for meaningful academic exchange. Throughout my academic career, I have been actively involved in organizing seminars, mentoring students and junior scholars, and building connections across academic and professional communities. These experiences have strengthened my appreciation for the importance of creating an engaged and supportive intellectual community. If elected, I would be excited to work closely with the CES President and fellow board members to support high-quality conferences and other academic activities. I am particularly interested in expanding opportunities for junior scholars, strengthening connections among economists, and encouraging greater interaction across different areas of economics. CES has built an important platform for research, collaboration, and academic exchange. I would be honored to contribute my time and energy to strengthening this community and supporting the Society’s continued growth and impact.

Qi Shi
Associate Professor
William & Mary

Bio

Shi Qi is Associate Professor of Economics at William & Mary. His research focuses on empirical industrial organization, industry policy and regulation, productivity, and organizational behavior. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Minnesota. His research has been published in journals including the RAND Journal of Economics, Management Science and American Economic Journal.

Statement

It is an honor to be considered for the Board of the Chinese Economists Society (CES). CES has long provided an important community for scholarly exchange and professional connection among economists interested in China and the global economy, and I would welcome the opportunity to contribute more actively to the Society. If elected, I hope to support CES in strengthening its academic community, expanding opportunities for collaboration, and engaging and mentoring junior scholars. I would also like to help broaden CES’s reach by fostering connections across institutions and encouraging dialogue between academic research and important economic and policy issues. I would be honored to work with the CES leadership and fellow Board members to support the Society’s programs and contribute to its continued growth and impact.

Sheng Liugang
Associate Professor
Chinese University of Hong Kong

Bio

Professor Sheng Liugang is an Associate Professor of the Department of Economics in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is also the associate director of the Economic Research Centre and the director of the Trade and Development Programme in the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies. Prof. Sheng’s research interests cover International Economics, Macroeconomics, and Development Economics. His papers have been published in many reputable international and Chinese journals including Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Applied Econometrics, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Journal of International Money and Finance, Economic Development and Structural Changes, Review of International Economics, China Economic Quarterly, and Law and Social Sciences. He also published a book titled with “Changes in the China-US Economic Relations: Challenges and Strategies”. Prof. Sheng received his PhD in economics from University of California, Davis in 2012. He also obtained MA in economics from Virginia Tech in 2008. Before he went to US, he received the bachelor and master degree from Peking University in 2002 and 2005 respectively.

Statement

I would be honored to be nominated to serve on the Board of the Chinese Economist Society (CES). I have long admired CES for its important contributions to advancing economic research, encouraging professional exchange, and building a vibrant network of economists with shared interests in China and the global economy. I would welcome the opportunity to contribute my time, energy, and ideas to the Society’s future development. CES serves as an important bridge among scholars, policy researchers, and professionals across different institutions and regions. Through its conferences, forums, and other activities, the Society creates valuable opportunities for intellectual engagement, research collaboration, and meaningful discussion on major economic and policy issues. I hope to support these efforts by helping broaden participation, strengthen professional connections, and create more opportunities for members at different career stages. If given the opportunity to serve, I would work collaboratively with the CES president and other board members to advance the Society’s mission. I would be eager to help organizing academic events, expanding mentoring and networking opportunities, and promoting initiatives that enhance the Society’s presence in both academic and policy communities. I would also seek to encourage greater interaction among members and support activities that foster inclusive and productive dialogue. I would be grateful for the opportunity to serve CES in this capacity. Thank you very much for your consideration and support.

Du Rui
Assistant Professor of Economics
Oklahoma State University

Bio

Rui Du is an Assistant Professor of Economics in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Review of Regional Studies. Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the MIT Center for Real Estate and the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and a visiting scholar at the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management. His research spans urban economics, regional and spatial economics, environmental economics, and applied microeconomics. His work examines how infrastructure, institutions, environmental conditions, and human-capital policies shape the spatial organization of economic activity and the distribution of opportunity. His research has appeared in the Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Economic Inquiry, Journal of Housing Economics, and Regional Studies. His work has been featured by outlets including MIT News and The Conversation. Dr. Du has received several research awards and honors, including an International Fellowship from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and a Best Paper Award from the Global Chinese Real Estate Congress. He has served as a principal investigator or co-investigator on projects supported by the MIT Greater China Fund for Innovation, the MIT MISTI Global Seed Funds, the Hamm Institute for American Energy, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and the Real Estate Research Institute. He has also been actively involved in the Chinese Economists Society, including serving on the organizing committee for its 2020 North America Conference.

Statement

I am honored to be nominated for the Board of Directors of the Chinese Economists Society. CES plays a distinctive role in connecting economists across China, North America, and the broader international community. It provides an important forum for rigorous China-related economic research, open intellectual exchange, and professional relationships across geographic, institutional, and disciplinary boundaries. I have participated in CES conferences as a presenter and discussant and served on the organizing committee for the 2020 North America Conference. These experiences gave me firsthand appreciation of the work required to develop strong academic programs, foster an inclusive scholarly community, and support researchers at different career stages. I would welcome the opportunity to give back through sustained and dependable Board service. If elected, I would pursue three priorities. First, I would support expanding opportunities for junior scholars and graduate students through mentoring, research feedback, professional networking, and greater involvement in CES programs. Second, I would support promoting year-round engagement through virtual workshops, panels, and other programs that complement in-person conferences and broaden participation. Third, I would support mission-aligned partnerships with universities, academic journals, public institutions, and professional organizations to expand the reach of China-related economic research. I would bring to the Board a commitment to developing worthwhile initiatives and carrying them through to implementation. I would be honored to serve CES, support the next generation of scholars, broaden participation, and advance the Society’s distinctive academic mission. Thank you for your consideration and support.

Yu Miaojie
Professor
Liaoning University

Bio

Professor Miaojie Yu, FREcon (Fellow of the Royal Economic Society), is President of Liaoning University and Boya Distinguished Professor at Peking University, China. He is also a Fellow of the International Economic Association and serves as an Associate Editor of The Economic Journal. He was awarded the Royal Economic Society Prize in 2015. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Davis, in 2005. Professor Yu currently serves as a deputy to China’s National People’s Congress and as an advisor on economic and trade policy to China’s Ministry of Commerce.

Statement

It is a great honor to be nominated as a candidate for the Board of Directors of the Chinese Economists Society (CES). If elected, I will work closely with the President and other board members to organize CES activities and strengthen academic collaboration between CES and the scholarly community in mainland China, particularly Liaoning University. It is also a great honor for Liaoning University to host the 2027 CES China Annual Conference. We will do our best to make the conference a well-organized, high-quality platform for academic exchange, bringing together CES members, leading scholars from China, and economists from around the world.

Li Shanjun
Professor
Stanford University

Bio

Shanjun Li is the Steven and Roberta Denning Global Sustainability Professor and a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and the Precourt Institute for Energy. His research focuses on environmental and energy economics, urban and transportation economics, empirical industrial organization, and the Chinese economy. His recent work examines pressing sustainability challenges and the rapid rise of clean energy industries in China, exploring their global implications to inform evidence-based policymaking.

Statement

It is a great honor to be nominated for the Board of Directors of the Chinese Economists Society. Academic exchange between economists in China and abroad has never been more valuable, and never more difficult to sustain in recent decades. Rising geopolitical tension and a turn toward protectionism have made cross border collaboration harder to fund, harder to travel for, and in some settings harder to defend. Yet the questions that matter most to both countries, from the energy transition and industrial decarbonization to trade, technology, and growth, cannot be answered well by scholars working in isolation from one another. CES has spent decades building exactly the kind of community that is needed, and I would consider it a privilege to help sustain and strengthen it.

Zou Ben
Associate Professor
Purdue University

Bio

Ben Zou is an Associate Professor of Economics at Purdue University’s Mitch Daniels School of Business. Before joining Purdue in 2022, he was an Assistant Professor of Economics at Michigan State University. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 2015, an M.A. in Economics from Peking University, and bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and economics from Peking University. His research lies at the intersection of labor economics, urban economics, and economic development, with a substantial focus on the Chinese economy. His work examines migration restrictions, transportation and commuting, gender inequality, e-commerce, regional development, and other issues central to China’s economic transformation. His research has appeared in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Economic Growth, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Urban Economics, and other journals. Zou is Coeditor of the Journal of Human Resources, Associate Editor of the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, a research affiliate of the Purdue University Research Center for Economics (PURCE), and a Research Fellow at ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin. He received Purdue departmental distinguished teaching awards in 2024 and 2025. Zou has served the CES in multiple capacities. He served on the CES Board of Directors in 2019–2020, helped organize the 2020 CES North America Conference, served on the CES conference program and award-selection committees for several years, and was Guest Editor of a China Economic Review special issue.

Statement

I am honored to seek the position of President-Elect of the Chinese Economists Society. Having received my early education in China and built my academic career in North America, I value CES’s distinctive role in connecting scholars across countries, institutions, fields, and career stages. My research on labor markets, cities and transportation, and inequality in China has deepened my appreciation of the intellectual community CES sustains. If elected, I would work with the President, Board, Regents, committees, and membership around three priorities. First, I would broaden year-round scholarly engagement in response to the community’s substantial growth in size, geographic reach, and intellectual breadth. Complementing CES’s flagship conferences with focused workshops, research discussions, and other activities would create more frequent opportunities for members to exchange ideas and develop collaborations. Second, I would expand support for graduate students and early-career scholars. Building on CES’s mentorship, conference, and Rising Star initiatives, I would introduce dedicated sessions at CES conferences and online to help job market candidates present their research, receive constructive feedback, and connect with prospective employers. More broadly, I would connect junior and experienced scholars across institutions. Third, I would strengthen CES’s visibility and bridge-building role. Against the backdrop of growing geopolitical competition between the United States and China, CES’s role in sustaining open, professional, and evidence-based scholarly exchange is particularly important. Partnerships with universities, research organizations, and CES-affiliated journals can help disseminate members’ research and bring rigorous scholarship on China to broader academic and policy audiences. My previous service as a CES Board member, conference organizer, CES-affiliated journal guest editor, and program committee member has given me firsthand knowledge of the Society’s strengths. I would bring a collaborative, practical, and transparent approach, focusing on initiatives that can be implemented well and sustained by future leadership.