Justin Yifu Lin Keynote Speaker

Former chief economist and senior vice-president of the World Bank
Founding director and professor of the China Centre for Economic Research at Peking University
An expert on developing economies, agricultural economics and the Chinese economic reform

Justin Yifu Lin's Biography

Justin Yifu Lin is China’s most prominent and influential economist known for his work on developing economies.

He is currently Dean of Institute of New Structural Economics, Dean of Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development and Professor and Honorary Dean of National School of Development at Peking University.

For years, Justin has served as an official advisor to the Chinese government. He is counsellor to the China State Council and a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee. Lin is also Vice-Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and the Economic Affairs Committee at CPPCC.

In 2008, Justin Yifu Lin made history by being the first non-Westerner to be appointed as chief economist and senior vice-president of the World Bank. He championed the New Structural Economics theory in 2011. A framework for rethinking development, introduced in his book ‘The Quest for Prosperity’ (Princeton University Press, 2012) alongside the lessons he learned from his four years at the World Bank.

The author of 31 other books, Justin is also a corresponding fellow of the British Academy and a fellow of the Academy of Sciences for Developing World. He was the founding director and professor of the China Centre for Economic Research at Peking University for 15 years.

An expert at demystifying the East’s economic approach for Western audiences, Justin is a regular guest on news programmes around the world. He has been featured on CGTN, BBC, South China Morning Post, Nikkei Asia, and The New York Times, to name a few.

Justin Yifu Lin was the first Chinese of his generation to receive a Ph.D. and has received honorary doctorates from 10 universities around the world. In 2011, he was awarded the Professional Achievement Award by the University of Chicago Alumni Association for his contribution to the field of development economics; he was also conferred the Knights of the National Order of the Lion of Senegal award in 2014. Lin’s early work ‘Institution, Technology and China’s Agricultural Development’ was awarded the Sun Yefang Economic Science Award in 1993 and 2001. This is the highest honour for economists in China.