The Chinese Economists Society (CES) is a non-profit academic organization registered in the United States and a member of the Allied Social Science Association (ASSA). The aim of the Society is to promote scholarly exchanges among its members and contribute to the advancement and dissemination of economics and management sciences in China.

The CES was founded on May 26th 1985 in New York City. Since its founding, the CES has evolved into an international professional society for Chinese scholars of economics and all those who are interested in studies of the Chinese economy.

Who Joined the CES?

The CES currently has hundreds of active individual members and dozens of institutional members. While most current individual members of the CES are Chinese scholars and students in the US and Canada, the Society has in recent years attracted more and more scholars and students of non-Chinese background who are interested in the studies of the Chinese economy.

Over years more than two thousand individuals have joined the CES from universities, research institutes, and other public or private organizations throughout North America, Asia, Europe and other regions of the world.  Since many CES members are from mainland China and some of them have returned there and are playing leading roles in various sectors, the Society is probably the most influential group that bridges academic exchanges in economics and related areas between the North America and China.

The Society also has dozens of institutional members, most of which are universities in China. In recent years, these institutional members have recruited actively through the CES network.

Why Should I Join the CES?

·        Networking through the CES: The CES conducts a series of academic activities and professional programs on a regular basis. Joining the Society will connect you to the CES Email net (CES-L), which circulates information of the CES activities, conference announcements, call-for-papers, job openings, etc.  

·        Annual Conference subsidies: Every year, the Society organizes its Annual Conference in China, often jointly hosted by a Chinese university. The CES conferences have been widely attended by internationally renowned economists, senior government officials, business leaders as well as Chinese economists. The individual members of the CES receive available logistic subsidies (such as free accommodations and meals) at the Annual Conference and are entitled to register for the conference at discounted early-bird registration rate.

·        Publications with the CES: The CES-founded China Economic Review, an English-language academic journal of worldwide circulation, is one of the most influential academic periodicals about the Chinese economy. Many of the papers presented at CES conferences have been published in special issues of CER and other professional economics journals as well as in dozens of academic volumes by internationally esteemed publishers. Every year CES members have the opportunity to propose paper presentations or discussion panels for the CES events at ASSA/AEA annual conference. Over past years, the Society has also had many book series, conference proceedings, research reports, and collections of papers published with Chinese publishers in China.

·    Awards and Fellowships: Every year since 2005, two outstanding papers presented by CES-members at the CES annual conference are selected to receive the Gregory Chow Best Paper Award. The CES has also run an annual short-term teaching program since 1990 to support its overseas members to teach economic courses in Chinese universities. Currently up to six teaching fellowships are funded by Gregory Chow Foundation every year and open for application by the members.

·      Professional service opportunities: All members have voting and election rights defined in the CES bylaws. If you would like to serve the CES community and are elected by members to do so, your voluntary professional service will enhance your academic profile and open more career opportunities.

·      Other activities: Apart from its annual conferences, the CES has held ad hoc forums, symposia, conferences in North America and China on various themes and occasions. There also have been CES-organized field studies in various places of mainland China and research trips to other parts of the world over the years.

Who manage the CES?

From the date of its founding, the CES has operated on democratic principles of free election and check-and-balance. It holds annual online elections to let its members choose a President-elect and the Board of Directors for a one-year term to manage the Society. A Finance Committee supervises financial affairs of the Society, enforce accounting regulations, and manage the Society assets. The CES Academic Publication Council initiates and executes policies governing the Society’s academic publications. Since 2007, a governing body, the CES Regents, has been set up to oversee matters affecting the growth and future of the CES. The CES also benefits from a distinguished advisory committee consisting of Nobel laureates Kenneth J. Arrow, Lawrence Klein, and several other renowned economists from the US, China, and Taiwan.

How to join the CES?

Student membership is $15 per year; Regular membership is $35 per year; and Lifetime membership is $1,000 lump sum. You can register and join the CES online by clicking here.