May 26^th, Unirule Salon for Young Scholars was held at Unirule Office in Beijing.

This session was proud to present Professor Ng Yew Kwang, Albert Winsemius professor in economics, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Professor Ng Yew Kwang has published multiple papers and articles on internationally renowned journals including the American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economics, and the Social Choice & Welfare. This time, Professor Ng Yew Kwang spoke on “Economics Mistakes of the Great: From Nobel Laureates to Piketty”.

Professor Ng Yew Kwang started with his experience as a scholar and introduced how he came to find the mistakes made by the great economists. In his speech, Professor Ng Yew Kwang stated that: 1. there exists contradiction between the decrease of Marx’s rate of capital return and the absolute poverty of workers; 2. Tobin’s theory regarding the irrelevance of price for goods in fixed supply; 3. Stiglitz’s idea that all taxes induce distortions; 4. Coase’s ignoring of an asymmetry of external effects when he refuted Pigou. At last, Professor Ng Yew Kwang commented on Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century. He pointed out that the major function r>g (i.e., the rate of return on capital (r) is greater than the rate of economic growth (g) over the long term) is neither the sufficient nor the necessary condition for the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. Professor Ng Yew Kwang also introduced his theory concerning the sufficient and necessary condition for the increase of the capital income to the national income: dα/α = (dK/K) + (dr/r) g. An extensive illustration can be found on the European Journal of Political Economy.(https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/poleco/v38y2015icp82-86.html)

Present at the Salon were Mr. MAO Yushi, Professor FENG Xingyuan, and Professor MO Zhihong. Mr. MAO Yushi spoke highly of Professor Ng Yew Kwang’s speech and expressed his hope for the young people in China to dedicate to economic studies and take an example from Professor Ng. Professor MO Zhihong commented on the methodology employed in the neo-classic economics and mathematical economics. Professor FENG Xingyuan joined the discussion with Professor Ng on the understanding and implication of the Coase’s theorem and Piketty’s theory.

Over 20 participants from universities, international organisations and the press attended the Salon and joined the Q&A session. Unirule Salon for Young Scholars from the East and the West is organised by Professor MA Junjie, Project Researcher and Assistant to the Director of Unirule International Cooperation Centre, and hosted by Mr. ZHANG Lin, Project Researcher of Unirule.

Unirule Saloon for Young Scholars from the East and the West is an open and free platform for academic discussion; it encompasses a wide range of social, economic, political and cultural topics; held once a month, the working language of the saloon is English. We believe that discussion will bring about the light of thoughts, and we hope in free discussion, young scholars from both China and the west will harvest inspiration, thoughts, and wisdom. We look forward to having young scholars from home and abroad join us. Please follow our website for the upcoming events.