On May 4-6, 2017, Shanghai Academy unveiled its “The Front of Applied Economics” series of classes. Zheng Shilin, Associate Research Fellow of the Institute of Quantitative & Technical Economics, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), was invited to lecture on the theme of “The Theoretical and Empirical Study on Native Economics of China” at Jiading Campus of Shanghai University. Nearly 100 students from Shanghai Academy, the SHU-UTS SILC Business School, and the School of Economics of Shanghai University attended the lecture.

During the three-day lecture, Zheng Shilin focused on the theme of the theoretical study on native economics of China, to give an explanation on the “Project System” and the “Pilot System”. In his opinion, most scholars explain native issues by using foreign theories, which seriously lacks innovation and vitality. So, he advocated that Chinese scholars explore the native economic theories deeply rooted in China, and thereby elaborated the development process, practical application and potential problems of the Project System, and the application of the Pilot System in terms of emergence background, development history, theory model, performance, and difficulties.

In the interactive Q & A, the teacher and students held a lively discussion on such issues as how to optimize the econometric models, and how to face setbacks and challenges during postgraduate study.

This lecture not only endowed the students with better understanding of economic theories and econometric models, but also evoked their interests in native economics and is conducive to cultivating the students’ ability in observation and thinking.

(Text and photo by Yang Meng Jun)