Peking University, Sept. 15, 2018: On September 15, 2018, Professor Yu Miaojie from the National School of Development (NSD) of Peking University (PKU) won this year’s China Youth Economist Excellent Paper Award at China Youth Economist Forum for his singled-authored paper “Trade liberalization and productivity: evidence from Chinese firms”.
Yu Miaojie, second left, accepting the award
The award started out as China Youth Economist Forum Excellent Paper Award before it changed to its current name in 2016. It is an annual award established by the Academic Council of China Youth Economists Forum to encourage more diversified and in-depth academic contributions from young Chinese economists.
This year, 28 scholars from 25 economics teaching and research institutions were invited to pick two excellent papers out of all the 106 papers submitted after two rounds of secret ballots. In each round, judges should vote an equal number of papers published in Chinese and English respectively to strike a balance between the two. Winners are as follows:
“Trade liberalization and productivity: evidence from Chinese firms” by Yu Miaojie, published in Economic Research Journal (December 2010)
“Growing Like China” by Song Zheng, Kjetil Storesletten and Fabrizio Zilibotti, published in American Economic Review (February 2011)
Yu’s paper investigated the impact of trade liberalization and tariff reduction on firm productivity by utilizing micro data of Chinese manufacturing firms. The paper earns its credit for both its theoretical and practical significance.
In theoretical terms, Yu brought the accuracy of total factor productivity (TFP) calculation to a new level by renovating traditional methodology. He also avoided the misrepresentation of macro data by digging into micro data. In addition, not only did he study the impact of tariff reduction on manufacturing productivity, but also the impact of non-tariff factors. All these made Yu’s study more comprehensive, solid and convincing.
In practical terms, Yu’s paper provided a direction for policymakers by revealing the positive effect of trade liberalization. Meanwhile, the result serves as a slap in the face for those who advocates anti-globalization theories.
After its publication, the paper has been cited 198 times in total. Yu’s monograph based on its results also won several big domestic awards.
Written by: Huang Yadan
Edited by: Xu Liangdi
