Name Justin Lin Role Economist | Fields Political Economy | |
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Born October 15, 1952 (age 71) ( 1952-10-15 ) Yilan County, Taiwan Nationality Chinese
PRC from 1979
ROC till 1979 Institution World Bank
Peking University Alma mater Republic of China Military Academy(Infantry)
National Chengchi University(MA)
Peking University(MA)
University of Chicago(PhD) Education University of Chicago, Republic of China Military Academy, Peking University, National Chengchi University Books Demystifying the Chinese, Against the Consensus: Reflectio, The China Miracle: Develop, Economic Development and Tran, Benti and Changwu: Dialogue Similar People Joseph Stiglitz, Ebrahim Patel, T N Srinivasan | ||
World bank chief economist justin yifu lin
Justin Yifu Lin (Chinese: 林毅夫; pinyin: Lín Yìfū), born on October 15, 1952, in Yilan County, Taiwan, as Zhengyi Lin, (simplified Chinese: 林正义; traditional Chinese: 林正義; pinyin: Lín Zhèngyì) is a Chinese economist.
Contents
- World bank chief economist justin yifu lin
- Justin yifu lin exporting china s economic model
- Early life
- Early education and defection
- Later education and career
- References
Lin is a former Taiwanese military officer who defected to the PRC in 1979 to pursue his ambitions. Lin transferred from a soldier to an economist when he started studying economics at Peking University and later went on to pursue a Ph.D at the University of Chicago. After finishing his doctoral dissertation, he returned to Beijing and became a professor at Peking University, founded the China Center for Economic Research (which was later upgraded to the National School of Development) and was appointed Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank where he served from 2008 to 2012. After that, he returned to Beijing and to his research at Peking University.
His main academic theory is called New Structural Economics.
Justin yifu lin exporting china s economic model
Early life
Lin was born on 15 October 1952 in Yilan County, Taiwan, as "Lin Zhengyi". Lin attended high school in Yilan. In 1971, he was admitted to the National Taiwan University's school of agriculture to study hydrology under the faculty of agricultural engineering. During his military training in 1971, Lin applied to enlist rather than return to the university. He transferred to the Republic of China Military Academy, graduating from its 44th class in 1975.
Early education and defection
In 1976 Lin entered the MBA program at National Chengchi University in Taiwan on a defense scholarship and returned to the army upon receiving his MBA in 1978. As a captain in the Republic of China Army in Taiwan, he defected to Mainland China on May 17, 1979, from the island of Kinmen off the coast of Fujian to the nearby island of Xiamen of Mainland China. Lin left his pregnant wife and his three-year-old child in Taiwan; a year after he defected, he was declared "missing" by the ROC Army and his wife claimed the equivalent of US$31,000 from the government. His wife and their children joined him years later when both of them went to study in the United States. While an officer in the ROC Army, Lin was held up as a model soldier; after his desertion, the ROC originally listed him as missing but in 2000 issued an order for his arrest on charges of defection.
In a letter written to his family in Taiwan about a year after his defection, Lin stated that "based on my cultural, historical, political, economic and military understanding, it is my belief that returning to the motherland is a historical inevitability; it is also the optimal choice." A National Taiwan University alumnus Hongsheng Zheng (鄭鴻生) confirmed Lin's reason and motive. Lin's oldest brother said it was unfair to brand his younger brother a traitor. "I don't understand why people regard him as a villain," he said. "My brother just wanted to pursue his ambitions."
Later education and career
Lin received a Master's degree in political economy from Peking University in 1982, and a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago in 1986.
He was one of the first PRC citizens to receive a PhD in economics from The University of Chicago, and is a leading Chinese economist; he serves as a consultant to major international organizations and is on the editorial board of several international academic economics journals.
On September 16, 2008, Fordham University honored Justin Yifu Lin a reception for his being chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank.
He received an Honorary Doctorate from Fordham in 2009 and was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy in 2010. His 2012 book, The Quest for Prosperity: How Developing Economies Can Take Off, argued for an active role for government in nurturing development, not just through the traditional provision of infrastructure and legal enforcement, but also by identifying and actively supporting industries that contribute to growth.
Lin is the founder and first director of the China Center for Economic Research and a former professor of economics at Peking University and at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.