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The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) was proud to present a Distinguished Public Lecture entitled ‘The New Normal in China: Lessons from Europe in the Transition to a Post-Industrialized Society’ by Prof. Sir Christopher A. Pissarides, 2010 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences today (16 October).  The lecture drew a full house of about 350 CUHK staff and students, alumni, and members of the public. 

Economic growth takes place through improvements in technology. This can take two forms, the implementation of new techniques and ideas in the production of goods and services or the reallocation of labour and capital from low productivity activities to higher productivity ones. Whichever way it is achieved, growth brings with it a structural transformation to the economy. In the lecture, Professor Pissarides addressed questions related to the structural transformation and the policies that it requires to achieve most good for the country. Europe went through a structural transformation during the 20^th century. There are many lessons that can be learned from Europe’s experience, especially as they relate to social and economic policies and their implications for economic development. These issues are especially relevant today when it comes to welfare support for disadvantaged groups, dealing with inequalities and managing an economic union. Many of these questions are now occupying China and Professor Pissarides highlighted the lessons that can be learned about such policies and the action that needs to be taken to avoid the mistakes made in many European countries. 

Prof. Sir Christopher Pissarides is the Regius Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the Chairman of the Council of National Economy of the Republic of Cyprus.  He was educated at the University of Essex and LSE, and he spent the bulk of his career at the LSE. He had long visits at the Harvard University, Princeton University and University of California at Berkeley. 

Professor Pissarides specialises in the economics of labour markets, macroeconomic policy, economic growth and structural change. He was awarded the 2010 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, jointly with Dale Mortensen of Northwestern University and Peter Diamond of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for his work in the economics of labour markets, especially his work on markets with frictions and unemployment.  Prior to that, in 2005, he became the first European economist to win the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) Prize in Labour Economics, sharing it again with his collaborator Dale Mortensen. He has written extensively in professional journals, magazines and the press and his book Equilibrium Unemployment Theory is an influential reference in the economics of unemployment that has been translated into many languages. He is frequently quoted in the press on issues concerning the Eurozone and the future of European integration. 

He is an elected Fellow of the Econometric Society, Fellow of the British Academy, the Academy of Athens, the Academia Europaea and several other learned societies, and he is a Lifetime Honorary Member of the American Economic Association. He has been honoured by several universities worldwide with doctorates or professorships. In 2011, he received the Grand Cross of the Republic of Cyprus, the highest honour of the Republic. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 2013. 

In 2011, he served as the President of the European Economic Association. Between 2000 and 2007, he was the external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Cyprus, which brought the euro to Cyprus. He has also been a consultant at the European Commission, World Bank and The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on matters related to employment and macroeconomic policy.

For more photos, please visit:
https://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/en/events_recap_detail.php?id=178&s=