In the morning of 16th November 2022, SFB successfully held the 'Academic Salon for Chinese and American Teachers in Economics & Appointment Ceremony of Professor Doris Stevenson' in Room A108 of Building of SFB, so as to enhance academic exchanges between Chinese and American teachers in Economics, and to formally appoint Professor Doris Stevenson, Dean of Goddard School of Business & Economics, Weber State University as a member of the Strategic Advisory Committee of SFB, Shanghai Normal University.
Pic.1 The Academic Salon & Appointment Ceremony (Hybrid)
This was a hybrid event. More than 20 participants attended F2F, including Prof. LIU Jianghui (Dean of SFB), Assoc. Prof. MA Yahua (Chair of Department of Economics), professors, associate professors and lecturers from the Department of Economics of SFB, as well as staff from the International Affairs Department and the Office of General Service of SFB; Professor Doris Stevenson, Dean of the Goddard School of Business & Economics, Weber State University, attended online via Tencent Meeting.
At the beginning of the event, Prof. LIU Jianghui, Dean of SFB thanked Prof. Doris Stevenson for having accepted the appointment invitation from SFB. He regarded this appointment as another symbol of the years of friendship and cooperation between the School of Finance and Business at Shanghai Normal University and the Goddard School of Business & Economics at Weber State University, which also signifies the further enhancement and deepened cooperation between these two schools. In addition, Prof. LIU expressed his belief that with the support of Professor Doris Stevenson, SFB will make new breakthroughs in international education.
Pic.2 Professor LIU Jianghui, Dean of SFB Presenting the Letter of Appointment
to Professor Doris Stevenson
After the appointment ceremony, Professor Doris Stevenson made a presentation titled 'Consensus Among Economists 2020 - A Sharpening of the Picture”. The study, based on an extensive survey of members of the American Economic Association, compared consensus among economists on a number of economic propositions over the past 40 years. Its main result is an increased consensus on many economic propositions, specifically the appropriate role of fiscal policy in macroeconomics and issues surrounding income distribution. Economists now embrace the role of fiscal policy in a way not obvious in previous surveys and are largely supportive of government policies that mitigate income inequality. Another area of consensus is concern with climate change and the use of appropriate policy tools to address climate change.
Pic.3 Virtual Presentation by Professor Doris Stevenson
After Professor Doris Stevenson’s academic presentation, Assoc. Prof. LI Xiuzhen from the Department of Economics of SFB made a brief summary and hosted the academic exchange section that followed. Faculty members of SFB actively communicated with Professor Doris Stevenson. Assoc. Prof. BAO Xiaoye from SFB asked, according to Prof. Stevenson's research, will the consensus of economists help business development in the short run, and promote the overall welfare of society in the long run? Prof. Stevenson answered that a survey found that American economists did reach more consensus after 2020 than before, but the consensus did not necessarily directly affect the government's economic policies.
Pic.4-6 Hybrid Academic Exchanges
between SFB Faculty Members and Professor Doris Stevenson
Dr. YAO Qin, lecturer of the Department of Economics of SFB, praised these research findings of Professor Doris Stevenson’s, saying that it is a very meaningful work to examine whether the recent research findings affect the economists' ideas, and asked how Professor Stevenson captured and measured the recent research findings in a large-scale literature. Prof. Stevenson said that she and her coauthors focused their sources on authoritative journals, reviewed relevant papers in authoritative journals according to the research field of the topic of the questionnaire, and extracted the opinions expressed by the authors.
Finally, Assoc. Prof. MA Yahua, Chair of the Department of Economics of SFB, praised the research findings obtained by Professor Stevenson based on the consensus reached by economists in 2020 through in-depth studies and challenges.
This event lasted for over an hour and ended in a friendly and pleasant atmosphere. SFB faculty members took a group photo with Professor Stevenson in a hybrid form ('online + offline), which concluded a successful ending to this academic salon and appointment ceremony for Chinese and American teachers in Economics.
Pic.7 Hybrid Group Photo
School of Finance and Business (SFB) Shanghai Normal University (SHNU) and the Goddard School of Business & Economics (GSBE) of Weber State University (WSU) have established a friendly and cooperative relationship for over 20 years. Since 1999, the Economics program (Sino-U.S.) for undergraduate students has been in good operation, aiming at cultivating business action-takers with a global vision. So far, these two schools have held in cooperation Sino-U.S. Weber Business Plan Competition for eight years, encouraging a group of innovative students to optimize their ideas and inspirations with professional guidance, training and competitions, which lays a solid foundation for their future entrepreneurship.
(Contribution & Photo: SFB International Affairs Department)
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