On the Pulse of the National Economy

Observing the low efficiency of China’s judiciary and legal system, Huang later advocated for the study of the economics of law, and mentored China’s first doctoral student in the field. In 2003 he founded the annual China Forum on Economics of Law with professor Shi Jinchuan from Zhejiang University, which gave a huge boost to research in the country.

“Language and economics are related in several ways and thus linguistics research can be included in the study of economics. Considering both its academic and practical needs, China should increase its research into the economics of language,” says Huang Shao’an. The economics of language is an emerging field of study and has become a subordinate subject of economics in recent years. In 2004, Professor Huang established the first economics of language research institute, which was expanded into Economics of Language Research Center of Shandong University in 2011.

Besides studying basic theories, members of the faculty are coming up with original research in subjects such as how China’s establishment of Confucius Institutes around the world promotes the Chinese language and culture, strategies for China’s language industry and the preservation of China’s ethnic minority languages. What is commendable is Professor Huang’s ability to find topics that are worth studying and transform the results of research into practical application.

Huang Kainan, a student of Huang Shao’an and professor at Shandong University, says: “I like chatting with my teacher while choosing research topics because he has a special perspective and always comes up with topics that others overlook.”

Professor Huang Shao’an’s papers have received much attention, with one winning him the Sun Yefang Economic Science Prize, the highest award in the field of economic science in China. Some 20 of his papers have been published in top-notch publications in the field, such as China Social Sciences and Economic Research Journal, and his study on the reform of small and medium-sized state-owned enterprises in Zhucheng City of Shandong Province has become a classic case study of China’s economic reform.

Professor Huang’s research keeps pace with the pulse of China’s rural and industrial reforms. His study on the rural supply and marketing cooperatives drew attention nationwide, and his paper on the transference of land-use rights under the household contract responsibility system was awarded the first China rural area development research prize. During the heat of China’s industrial reform in the 1980s, his analysis of the relationship between the ownership, shareholding, property and enterprise systems provided theoretical explanations supporting the reform of state-owned enterprises into shareholding companies.

Huang's Team

While he is active in conducting his own academic research, Huang has also shown great passion in creating a top quality academic team. Currently, the faculty Huang leads at the Shandong University’s Center for Economic Research includes one Chang Jiang Scholar from the Ministry of Education, two outstanding foreign scholars and several fellows with national academic titles.

British research fellow Geoffrey M. Hodgson, also a world-leading figure in institutional economics, is a member of Huang’s team. Hodgson indicated the Center for Economic Research at Shandong University was undoubtedly China’s top center for studies on institutional economics, which was the main reason for his joining. He said the free academic atmosphere had impressed him.

In recent years, Huang’s team has mainly engaged in studies on the fundamental theories of economics. They have accomplished impressive achievements in such fields as institutional economics, law and economics, the economics of language, theories on general equilibrium, theories on economic growth, econometrics and health economics. The team members have also been devoted to several research areas aimed at providing practical solutions for national and provincial development projects and have worked as consultants with both the government and businesses.

Guided by national strategic requirements, Huang’s research center has taken on such research topics as the development of the marine economic zone on the Shandong Peninsula and the development of the high-efficiency ecological economic zone in the Yellow River Delta. Closely related to China’s development as a whole, their research results have been studied closely by government departments. One major national research project that they are currently conducting concerns land expropriation, requisition and compensation. As the acting dean of the Center for Economic Research of Shandong University, Huang Shao’an has guided his team to pay much attention to the major issues related to the economic and social development of Shandong Province. They have provided valuable suggestions on major issues for the Shandong provincial government, based on objective and pragmatic research.

“The team’s success in integrating theory with practice is inseparable from Huang’s leadership. Professor Huang is one of China’s economists renowned for their ability to apply theories to realities,” remarked Professor Wei Jian, in charge of the law and economics research in Huang’s team. In fact, the ability to solve real problems can be ascribed to Huang’s concern for what’s going on at the grassroots level, particularly situations in rural areas, which has given him profound knowledge and understanding of China’s realities. It has also been influenced by his insight that any major theoretical innovation in economics comes from society’s strong demands for change.

As an influential economist, Huang is aware of his responsibilities. “Just one opinion or a remark given by an economist to the media can set off a ripple in society. Therefore, for an economist, social responsibility is as important as his academic ability, perhaps even more. We can’t simply pander to decision-makers’ preferences or popular opinion, but should stick to a scientific attitude and respect for objective laws, or calamity could hit our country and its people,” said Huang.

Huang and his team attach great importance to the quality and value of their research and maintain a pragmatic attitude to the relation between globalization and localization. For example, they encourage an international perspective and have adopted a faculty structure and talent training system in line with international practice, but in terms of research they focus on local issues. Huang has also insisted on the same standards of use, treatment and evaluation for scholars no matter where they come from.

Thanks to the efforts of Huang’s team, Shandong University leads the country’s research on institutional economy and some of its projects are discussed around the world. It has also developed its own ideas on econometrics, theories of economic growth and new economic history. Huang’s team has significantly advanced the university’s status among China’s economic research institutions.