On the afternoon of April 9, the 18th session of the Song Zexing Memorial University Lecture by Overseas Prestigious Scholars was held at Puhe Campus. Professor Johannes Van Biesebroeck, Dean of the Department of Economics at the University of Leuven in Belgium was invited to give a report titled “Imperfect (Re)allocation in Imperfect Markets: Evidence from China’s Pilot Carbon ETS”. Professor Yu Miaojie, President of Liaoning University, delivered a speech and introduced the keynote speaker. Li Yuhua, Secretary of the CPC Committee of Business School, Han Liangliang, Dean of Business School, and Gao Ming, Deputy Dean of Sunwah International Business School, attended the report meeting. The report meeting was presided over by Professor Dong Baomin, Deputy Director of the Faculty of Economics.
Yu Miaojie solemnly introduced to the audience the outstanding achievements that Professor Johannes Van Biesebroeck has made in the field of economics, pointing out that his contributions to economics have profoundly influenced the understanding of global value chains, industrial organization, and development economics. Professor Johannes Van Biesebroeck has published more than 50 high-level papers in world-class top journals such as the American Economic Review (AER), Review of Economic Studies (RES), Journal of International Economics (JIE), and Journal of Development Economics (JDE). One of his most influential works, “Creative Accounting or Creative Destruction? Firm-Level Productivity Growth in Chinese Manufacturing”, has been cited more than 3,000 times on Google Scholar.
He has won many honors, such as the Distinguished Award for Global Economic Affairs of the Kiel Institute and the EARIE Young Economist Award. Yu Miaojie expressed his gratitude to Professor Johannes Van Biesebroeck for accepting the appointment as the Tenured Honorary Professor of Liaoning University. He also pointed out that the joining of Professor Johannes Van Biesebroeck will surely contribute to the overall development of the university, and more remarkable achievements will be made in promoting discipline construction, talent cultivation, knowledge inheritance, theoretical innovation and other aspects.
At the report meeting, Professor Johannes Van Biesebroeck conducted an in-depth discussion on the effectiveness of the pilot project of China’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) launched in 2013, with a focus on comparing the differences in the impact of two regulatory approaches, namely absolute emission limits and intensity-based emission limits, on emission reduction effects. He pointed out that, by using the difference-in-differences method to analyze energy consumption, industrial output, electricity trade, and energy substitution, it was found that both policies could effectively reduce carbon emissions, but the mechanisms of action were different. Absolute emission limits proved more effective in reducing energy consumption. Professor Johannes Van Biesebroeck further emphasized that the overall effectiveness of the pilot policy was remarkable, providing a crucial basis for China’s national carbon market launched in 2021. He believed that this achievement not only demonstrated China’s policy innovation in climate governance but also provided an important reference for other developing countries to promote emission reduction without sacrificing economic growth. Finally, he suggested that future policies need to further optimize the market mechanism and strengthen regional coordination to more efficiently achieve the “dual carbon” goals.
After the report, Yu Miaojie presented the letter of appointment as an honorary professor and a commemorative plate of the Song Zexing Memorial University Lecture by Overseas Prestigious Scholars to Professor Johannes Van Biesebroeck. Li Yuhua presented a copy of the Liaoning University Newsletter. Han Liangliang presented a commemorative photo. Gao Ming pinned the university badge on Professor Johannes Van Biesebroeck and presented him an LNU cap. Cai Jiaming, a representative of the faculty members, presented a bouquet.
This report meeting was hosted by the Faculty of Economics of LNU and undertaken by the Business School. Nearly 200 faculty members and student representatives attended the event.
Introductions of the Keynote Speaker
Johannes Van Biesebroeck is a professor at the University of Leuven in Belgium and the Head of the Department of Economics. He is also a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in Europe and the Editor-in-Chief of the top journal in development economics, the Journal of Development Economics. He has served as the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Leuven, a Research Fellow of the Productivity Research Group at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in the United States, and a Research Fellow of the International Motor Vehicle Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. He has also served as an editorial board member of journals such as the World Bank Economic Review and the Review of World Economics. His research areas cover global value chains, international trade, industrial organization, development economics, and the analysis of productivity dynamics, etc. He has particularly significant influence in the global value chain of the automotive industry and the governance of multinational corporations. He has published more than 50 high-quality papers in top journals such as the World Economy, the International Economic Review, the American Economic Review, the Review of Economic Studies, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of International Economics, and the Journal of Development Economics. He has published several academic works, including “The Impact of International Competition on Firm Productivity and Market Powe”. He has provided consulting services for multiple international institutions such as Global Affairs Canada, the National Bank of Belgium, the European Commission, the World Bank, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Due to his outstanding academic contributions, he has won a number of honors, including the Distinguished Award for Global Economic Affairs of the Kiel Institute, the Emerald Insight Outstanding Paper Award, and the Belgian Development Cooperation Award.
