On the afternoon of November 10, 2023, the ceremony for the appointment of Professor Yang Rudai as a part-time professor of Southeast University, along with the academic seminar on "Data, Total Factor Productivity, and Industrial Development" was held in the lecture hall of the School of Economics and Management. Yuan Jianhong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Economics and Management of Southeast University, presented Professor Yang Rudai with the letter of appointment as a part-time professor and adorned him with the university badge.
Professor Yang Rudai is a Boya Distinguished Professor of Peking University and a CJ Scholar, serving as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of "Economic Science" and "Economic Quarterly". Professor Yang has presided over several major projects, including those funded by the National Social Science Fund and the National Natural Science Foundation of China's 14th Five-Year Plan.
Appointment Ceremony
The appointment ceremony was chaired by Yin Wei, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Associate Dean of the School of Economics and Management at Southeast University. It was attended by over 150 faculty and students, including Yuan Jianhong, Secretary of the Party Committee, and Liu Xiuyan, Assistant to the Dean of the School.
Professor Yang's joining will inject new vitality into Southeast University, positively impacting the construction of academic substance and the development of distinctive features. His joining will encourage broader exchanges and cooperation between Southeast University and advanced universities and research institutions at home and abroad, thus enhancing the university's influence and competitiveness on the international stage. As an outstanding scholar in the field of economics, Professor Yang, with his exceptional academic achievements, will further improve the research level and the quality of talent training in applied economics at our university. His extensive experience and research background will bring new ideas and methodologies to our academic team, promoting innovation and deepening disciplinary research.
Academic Report
Following the appointment ceremony, Professor Yang Rudai delivered a lecture titled "Enterprise Digitalization, Total Factor Productivity, and Industrial Chain Spillover Effects," in which he discussed the potential of digital economy development. He demonstrated the feasibility of integrating enterprise digitalization into traditional growth accounting models and analyzed the significant implications of this research for high-quality development.
Professor Yang Rudai stated that high-quality development requires China's economy to gradually transition from a factor input-driven growth model to one propelled by total factor productivity (TFP). To achieve this goal, the development of the digital economy may be a potential breakthrough for the future. In his research on transmission mechanisms, considering the impact of management expenses and inventory turnover rates, Professor Yang drew the following conclusions. Firstly, incorporating enterprise digitalization into traditional growth accounting models reveals that the output elasticity of digital inputs is 0.09, with significant variations across industries, indicating substantial room for absolute enhancement and efficiency gains in allocation. Secondly, on average, digitalization affects enterprise TFP by approximately 7.6%-13.6%. Thirdly, industry-to-enterprise and enterprise-to-enterprise matching data both suggest that upstream digital development has industrial chain spillover effects, leading to reduced management costs and improved inventory turnover rates for downstream enterprises, as well as optimizing resource allocation efficiency in downstream industries, thereby enhancing the overall productivity of downstream enterprises. Fourthly, when absolute technological breakthroughs face bottlenecks and uncertainties, improving TFP through the optimization of allocation efficiency via the development of the digital economy could be one of the pathways for China to achieve stable economic growth.
"High savings can be transformed into high investment, and high investment into high capacity. Future industrial development should focus more on the demand side." Professor Yang emphasized the importance of research on enterprise digitalization development at the end of his academic report. To realize the transition to a growth model driven by TFP, the development of the digital economy may be a potential breakthrough for the future.
During the interactive session, teachers and students eagerly posed questions to Professor Yang and discussed models and mechanisms with him. Professor Yang, drawing upon his own experiences, answered patiently and elucidated topics such as micro supply chain spillovers and the definition of cohort effects and digital economy, and also offered suggestions for the students' thesis topics, from which the teachers and students benefited greatly.
Finally, Professor Yang Rudai took a group photo with everyone as a memento. In the future, Professor Yang will engage in more in-depth exchanges and cooperation with the School of Economics and Management of Southeast University. It is believed that in terms of teaching, research, university collaboration, and international exchanges, Professor Yang Rudai and the School of Economics and Management will work together to achieve new breakthroughs. This meeting was not only an academic feast but also a crystallization of friendship. We look forward to Professor Yang Rudai and the School of Economics and Management of Southeast University working hand in hand to draw a new chapter for the discipline construction at Southeast University and forge a beautiful future together!
Text by: Jiang Weiheng
Photography by: Liu Rui'an
Translated by: Tang Feng
Reviewed by: Luo Jiaoying
