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Professor James J. Heckman, a world-renowned economist who became a Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences in 2000, joined The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen) as a Distinguished Professor-at-Large in January and July 2024 respectively, each for three years.

During his tenure, Professor Heckman will regularly visit CUHK and CUHK-Shenzhen to give lectures, sharing his expertise with the CUHK community. He is also dedicated to promoting exchange and collaborations between CUHK’s Lau Chor Tak Institute of Global Economics and Finance and the University of Chicago’s Center for the Economics of Human Development. The University is planning to host a public lecture by Professor Heckman next year for sharing of his insights with the public as a whole.

Born in 1944, Professor Heckman is the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. His work on the microeconometrics of diversity and heterogeneity within populations, and establishment of a sound causal basis for public policy evaluation, has earned him acclaim that has included a share of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2000. Renowned as a leading champion of early childhood education and development, Professor Heckman has calculated that the return on public investment in this area can be as much as 13%[i]. This has significantly influenced the elevation of pre-school education’s status globally, including the implementation of educational reforms in Hong Kong.

Professor Heckman is also dedicated to developing scientific methods for evaluating economic policies to provide a basis for governments to formulate public policy. The Nobel Prize is just one of numerous awards he has received. His significant contributions have also been acknowledged with the Dan David Prize, the Frisch Medal, the Chinese government’s prestigious Friendship Award and more. Professor Heckman was conferred an honorary Doctor of Social Science degree by CUHK in June 2024 for his profound influence on global policymaking and his philanthropy in supporting underprivileged people.

The Distinguished Professor-at-Large is a specially created chair with university-wide responsibilities. Currently, four world-leading academics, including two Nobel Laureates, are serving as Distinguished Professors-at-Large at CUHK. Besides Professor Heckman, the other three CUHK Distinguished Professors-at-Large are Professor Yang Chen-ning, the first Chinese Nobel Laureate; Professor Andrew Yao Chi-chih, the only Chinese scientist to receive the prestigious Turing Award, the highest honour in computer science; and Professor Yau Shing-tung, Director of CUHK’s Institute of Mathematical Sciences and the first Chinese Fields Medallist (who holds the title of Distinguished Visiting Professor-at-Large). They have made important contributions to the University, providing quality education and strengthening relationships between Hong Kong and the international scholarly community.

[i] Source: https://heckmanequation.org/