Economic history helps explain how societies work

Economic history helps explain how societies work

For centuries, China had a strong economy and a vibrant civilization, yet it was overtaken by Europe in the 18th century. The possible causes of China’s decline during this period have been the focus of Professor James K.S. KUNG’s work.

Professor Kung of HKU’s Faculty of Business and Economics was recently awarded the Sein and Isaac Souede Professorship in support of his academic and research activities in the economic history of China, its institutions and its political economy of development. His research helps generate insights into understanding Chinese society today. His recent research examines the origins of the country’s meritocratic civil exam system and its long-term effects on human capital development, as well as political exchanges and corruption in contemporary China.

He finds that China’s civil exam system and the prestige and higher earnings of those who succeeded in it probably deeply inspired the Confucian culture of greatly valuing education. As a descendant of the Kungs from Suzhou where nine jinshis (進士) were produced in the Ming-Qing period with his family surname, Professor Kung said “I would surely be strongly motivated to sit for the keju exam and probably would stand a fair chance — compared to the extremely low 0.016% for those with no forebears in the family — of achieving some level of exam qualifications if I had lived in late imperial times.”

His research has also shown how China’s political institutions and policies can influence the economy, and how relying on regional officials to drive growth can result in rampant corruption. He studied data on over a million land transactions between 2004 and 2016 where local government was the sole seller, and found that firms associated with members of China’s supreme political elites — the Politburo — obtained a price discount compared to those without the same connections. The provincial party officials who provided the discount to these “princeling” firms were subsequently more likely to get promotions. However, since President Xi Jinping launched his anti-graft campaign, the number of fraudulent land dealings has significantly dropped.

Professor Kung’s research emphasises the importance of causal relationships between events and is based on intensive data collection from archives coupled with the latest econometric techniques for assessing causation. “What we hope to have demonstrated, as empirical economists, is the importance of asking the right question in the right setting, and of coming up with a novel design of research methodology, both of which determine what kind of data would be required for conducting the analysis,” he explains.

“Sometimes, it may take years to assemble enough data to enable us to conduct a meaningful analysis,” says Professor Kung. “You may say that the kind of work that we do is analogous to what investigative journalists typically do, except we go beyond sheer case studies to demonstrate causal relationships as well.”

The Sein and Isaac Souede Professorship in Economic History supports fact-based thought leadership that allows new knowledge to be freely shared and give new insights into understanding society.

Other Events
恭喜贾鹤教授荣获2024-25年度「学院杰出研究学者奖」
2025 | 学院成就
恭喜贾鹤教授荣获2024-25年度「学院杰出研究学者奖」
恭喜贾鹤教授荣获2024-25年度「学院杰出研究学者奖」!贾教授是主要从事数字平台中的视觉营销和促销设计等领域的经济学家。现任香港大学经济学副教授,过去五年,贾鹤教授已有四篇高水准研究获刊登于国际顶尖学术期刊,成就备受肯定。
港大经管学院领袖企业家讲坛系列2025年第四讲 – 通用人工智能的技术发展和典型应用
2025 | 教与学
港大经管学院领袖企业家讲坛系列2025年第四讲 – 通用人工智能的技术发展和典型应用
港大经管学院荣幸地邀请到科大讯飞股份有限公司董事长刘庆峰教授,担任2025年5月27日举行的“港大经管学院领袖企业家讲坛系列 2025 - ”主讲嘉宾,与港大经管学院经济学实务教授毛振华教授进行一场深入且充满启发性的对话。两位围绕“通用人工智能的技术发展和典型应用”主题,探讨人工智能在全球科技博弈中的关键角色,剖析认知大模型的演进历程和通用大模型基础的最新突破,并分析当前人工智能产业的发展趋势,为与会者带来前沿视角与深刻的商业洞见,激发对科技创新与产业转型的深思。