International Forum on China’s Western Strategy in Global Economic Transition

June 27, 2012

Shangri-La Hotel, Xi'an, China

Organizers: Research Center of West China’s Economic Development, Northwest University

U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Caijing Magazine

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

08:15—08:30 Registration

08:30—09:10 Opening Address:

Zhao Zhengyong

Governor of Shaanxi Province

Or Jin Junhai

Vice governor of Shaanxi Province

James Poterba

NBER president and chief executive officer, professor at MIT, and former member of the

President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform

Fang Guanghua

President of Northwest University

Wang Boming

Chairman of SEEC Media Group Limited，Editor-in-Chief of Caijing Magazine

09:10—09:30 Photo Session

09:30—10:30 China, the United States, and the Global Economy

Chair: Yandong Zhang, Caijing Magazine

Martin Feldstein: Global and US Economic Outlook

President Emeritus of the NBER, member of the President Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, Chairman of President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers

Gao Xiqing: Rebalancing the Global Economy and China’s Transformation

General Manager, China Investment Corporation

Xu Shanda: The Developing-West Strategy and Chinese Taxation Reforms

Former Vice-Commissioner of the State Administration of Taxation, Chairman of the Chinese certified Tax Agent Association.

10:30—10:45 Tea Break

10:45—12:05 Demographic and Macroeconomic Challenges

Moderator: He Gang

Managing Editor of Caijing Magazine

Li Shuzhuo: China’s Population Dynamics and Challenges

Director of the Institute for Population and Development Studies, School of Public Policy and Management, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Distinguished Professor of Chang Jiang Scholars Program

James Poterba: Implications of Changing Demographic Structure

NBER president and chief executive officer, professor at MIT, and former member of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform

Alan J. Auerbach: Fiscal Policy Challenges

Professor at Berkeley, University of California, and International Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies

Shang-Jin Wei: The Sequence of China's Financial Reforms

Professor at Columbia University, and Director of the NBER Working Group on the Chinese Economy

12:05—13:15 Lunch

13:15—14:35 Economic Development (1)

Chair: Martin Feldstein, NBER

Xu Zhangyong: The 2012 REPORT ON the ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN WESTERN REGIONS OF CHINA

Professor and Deputy Director of the Western Development Research Center,

Northwest University

Yao Huiqin: Current State and Prospects for the Economy of Western China

Professor and Executive Deputy Director of the Western Development Research Center, Northwest University

Caroline M. Hoxby: Education Reforms - Successes and Failures

Professor at Stanford University

Brigitte C. Madrian: Behavioral Economics and Savings

Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management at Harvard Kennedy School

14:35—14:55 Coffee/tea Break

14:55-16:15 Economic Development (2)

Moderator: Su Qi

Associate Managing Editor of Caijing Magazine

Huang Yiping: Macroeconomic Challenges

Professor at Peking University and Chief Economist for Asia, Barclays Global Capital

Feng Tao: Income Distribution, China’s Economic Growth and Fluctuations

Fellow at the Western Development Research Center of Northwest University,

Professor

Christine Wong: Challenges of China’s Public Policies

Professor at Oxford University

Ren Baoping: Development Model of Urban-Rural Integration in Western China

Professor and Dean of the School of Economics and Management, Northwest University

16:15-16:30 Tea/coffee Break

16:30—17:50 Economic Development (3)

Chair: Yue Liang

Professor and Deputy Director of the Western Development Research Center’s

Academic Commission, Northwest University

Fan Hengshan: Regional Economic Development

Director of the Department of Regional Economy, National Development and Reform

Commission (NDRC)

David A. Wise: Retirement Patterns: The United States and Europe

Professor of Political Economy at Harvard, Director of the economics of aging and health care project at the National Bureau of Economic Research

Xiaobo Zhang: Entrepreneurship in China

Senior Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute, and Special-appointment Professor, Zhejiang University

Guo Yuqing: Assessing Risks with the Local Governments’ Debt

Associate Professor of Economics at Nankai University, Winner of Wu Yuzhang Prize

17:50—18:00 Closing Remarks

18:30—20:30 Dinner

Suggested format:

1. Each speaker speaks for 12-15 minutes. The balance of time in each session is for Q&As and discussions.
2. The lunch can be simple. For example, a buffet or a box lunch would do. Dinner can be a bit fancier with a nice ambience. For example, I think Yandong suggested a nice restaurant with a Tang Dynasty setting (near the old city wall?), which sounds nice.

Hotel for the NBER participants

Shangari-La Hotel, Xi’an, China

Phone (86 29) 8875 8888, Fax (86 29) 8875 9999, Email slxn@shangri-la.com

Location: 38B Keji Road, Xian, 710075, China

http://www.shangri-la.com/xian/shangrila/about/

Hotel name and address in Chinese:

西安香格里拉大酒店

中国西安市科技路38号乙 邮政编码 710075
电话: (86 29) 8875 8888 传真: (86 29) 8875 9999