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Justin Yifu Lin

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This article is about the Chinese economist. For the film director, see Justin Lin. For the Taiwanese economic officeholder, see Lin Yi-fu.
Justin Yifu Lin
Chief Economist of the World Bank
In office
June 2008 – June 2012
PresidentRobert Zoellick
Preceded byFrançois Bourguignon
Succeeded byMartin Ravallion (Acting)
Personal details
Born
Lin Cheng-yi

(1952-10-15) 15 October 1952 (age 72)
Yilan County, Taiwan
Education
Military service
AllegianceRepublic of China (1952–1979)
People's Republic of China (1979–)
Branch/serviceRepublic of China Army
Years of service1971–1979[a]
RankCaptain
Scientific career
FieldsPolitical economy
InstitutionsWorld Bank
Peking University
ThesisThe household responsibility system in China's agricultural reform: a study of the causes and effects of an institutional change. (1986)
Doctoral advisorsD. Gale Johnson
Theodore Schultz
Sherwin Rosen
WebsiteOfficial website
Academic career
Information at IDEAS / RePEc

Justin Yifu Lin (Chinese: 林毅夫; pinyin: Lín Yìfū; born on October 15, 1952) is a Chinese economist and professor of economics at Peking University.[1] He served as the Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank from 2008 to 2012.[2] He has been appointed as China's State Council Counsellor since September 2013.[3][4]

Born in Yilan County of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Lin was a ground force captain and company commander of the Republic of China Army on the Kinmen Islands, where he swam across the channel and sought refuge in Xiamen of the People's Republic of China in May 1979.[5][6] After settling in Mainland China, Lin became an economist after pursuing graduate studies in economics at Peking University and the University of Chicago, where he received respectively a Master of Economics in 1982 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1986. His doctoral advisor at the University of Chicago was Nobel laureate economist Theodore Schultz.

After completing his postdoctoral studies at Yale University, he returned to Beijing and became a professor of economics at Peking University in 1987.[7] He founded the China Center for Economic Research (currently the Peking University National School of Development) and was later appointed Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank where he served from 2008 to 2012.[8] After that, he returned to Beijing and to his research at Peking University.

His main academic theory is called New Structural Economics. At Peking University, he currently serves as the Dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics, the Honorary Dean of the National Development Institute, and the Dean of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development.[9]

Biography

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Early life

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Lin was born on 15 October 1952 in Yilan County, Taiwan, as Lin Cheng-yi[10] (simplified Chinese: 林正义; traditional Chinese: 林正義; pinyin: Lín Zhèngyì). Lin attended high school in National Yilan Senior High School. In 1971, he was admitted to the National Taiwan University's College of agriculture to study agricultural machinery under the department of agricultural engineering. Michael Pillsbury remembered Lin being the president of the student body in 1971 while he was studying Chinese at the same university.[11] In 1971, Lin left school as a freshman student for volunteer military service in the army.[12]

Early education and seeking asylum

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Justin Yifu Lin and his wife at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2009

In 1976, Lin entered the MBA program at National Chengchi University in Taiwan on a defense scholarship and returned to the army upon receiving his MBA in 1978. As a captain in the Republic of China Army (ROCA) in Taiwan, he swam from Kinmen Islands to Xiamen, which is under the control of the People's Republic of China (PRC), for asylum on May 17, 1979. Lin initially left his pregnant wife and his three-year-old child in Taiwan; a year after his asylum, he was declared "missing" by the ROC Army and his wife claimed the equivalent of US$31,000 from the government.[13] His wife and their children rejoined with him years later when both of them went to study in the United States.[14] While an officer in the ROC Army, Lin was held up as a model soldier; after his desertion, the ROC originally listed him as missing but in 2000 issued an order for his arrest on charges of defection, and remains a fugitive by the ROC government.[15]

In a letter written to his family in Taiwan about a year after his asylum, Lin stated that "based on my cultural, historical, political, economic and military understanding, it is my belief that returning to the motherland is a historical inevitability; it is also the optimal choice."[13][16] A National Taiwan University alumnus Hongsheng Zheng [zh] confirmed Lin's reason and motive.[17] Lin's oldest brother said it was unfair to brand his younger brother a traitor. "I don't understand why people regard him as a villain," he said. "My brother just wanted to pursue his ambitions."[14]

Later education and career

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Lin received a master's degree in political economy from Peking University in 1982, and a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago in 1986. He was one of the first PRC citizens to receive a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago.[18]

On September 16, 2008, Fordham University honored Lin with a reception for being chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank.[19] Lin received an Honorary Doctorate from Fordham University in 2009[20] and was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy in 2010. His 2012 book, The Quest for Prosperity: How Developing Economies Can Take Off, argued for an active role for government in nurturing development, not just through the traditional provision of infrastructure and legal enforcement, but also by identifying and actively supporting industries that contribute to growth.[21]

Lin is the founder and first director of the China Center for Economic Research and a former professor of economics at Peking University and at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He is also an adviser to the China Finance 40 Forum (CF40).[22]

Works

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Selected books

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  • Lin, Justin Yifu, Fang Cai, and Zhou Li. The China Miracle: Development Strategy and Economic Reform. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 2003.
  • Lin, Justin Yifu. Demystifying the Chinese Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
  • Lin, Justin Yifu. The Quest for Prosperity: How Developing Economies Can Take Off. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012.
  • Lin, Justin Yifu. New structural economics: A framework for rethinking development and policy. The World Bank, 2012.

Selected articles

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  • Lin, Justin Yifu. “The Household Responsibility System in China's Agricultural Reform: A Theoretical and Empirical Study.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 36, no. 3 (1988): 199–224.
  • Lin, Justin Yifu. “Rural Reforms and Agricultural Growth in China,” American Economic Review, 82 no. 1 (1992): 34-51.
  • Lin, Justin Yifu and Dennis Tao Yang. “On the Causes of China's Agricultural Crisis and the Great Leap Famine,” China Economic Review 9, no. 2 (1998): 125–140.
  • Lin, Justin Yifu. “Competition, Policy Burdens, and State-owned Enterprise Reform,” American Economic Review, 88 no. 2 (1998): 422-27.
  • Lin, Justin Yifu. and Zhiqiang Liu. “Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Growth in China.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 49, no. 1 (2000): 1–21.
  • Lin, Justin Yifu. “China and the Global Economy,” China Economic Journal, 4 no. 1 (2011): 1-14
  • Lin, Justin Yifu. “New Structural Economics: A Framework for Rethinking Development,” World Bank Research Observer, 26, no. 2 (2011): 193-221.

Notes

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  1. ^ Defected to the People's Republic of China.

References

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  1. ^ "林毅夫 - 北京大学人文社会科学研究院". www.ihss.pku.edu.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  2. ^ "Justin Yifu Lin | World Bank Live". live.worldbank.org. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  3. ^ "国务院参事室". Counsellors' Office of the State Council. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  4. ^ "林毅夫参事作"百年未有之大变局与新发展格局下的中国经济发展"专题讲座-国务院参事室". Counsellors' Office of the State Council. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  5. ^ "林毅夫叛逃中國40年 妻子陳雲英祕訪台灣「學術交流」". tw.news.yahoo.com (in Chinese). 28 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  6. ^ "林毅夫或续遭台湾检方通缉 台方认定"投敌"-中新网". www.chinanews.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  7. ^ "林毅夫". www.czxzw.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  8. ^ "Justin Yifu Lin Leaves World Bank - Economic Observer Online - In-depth and Independent". Archived from the original on 2012-06-22. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  9. ^ "全职教师". www.nse.pku.edu.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-07-08. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  10. ^ "LIN Yifu-Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding, PKU". LIN Yifu. Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding at Peking University.
  11. ^ Pillsbury, Michael (2015). The Hundred-Year Marathon: China' Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 166–167. ISBN 9781250081346.
  12. ^ "简历". scholar.pku.edu.cn (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-12-17. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  13. ^ a b Jennifer Chou: World Bank's Chief Economist Swam to China? Archived 2015-11-09 at the Wayback Machine, The Weekly Standard, February 11, 2008
  14. ^ a b "Justin Lin's wife pays her respects". Taipei Times. 2002-06-04. Archived from the original on 2008-02-08. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
  15. ^ "World Bank economist risks arrest if he visits". Taipei Times. 2008-02-07. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  16. ^ 林毅夫 (Justin Yifu Lin) (1980). "给表兄李建兴的信 (A letter to elder cousin Jianxing Li)". Published on Oct-18-2010 (in Chinese). Beijing, China: 爱思想网(http://www.aisixiang.com). Archived from the original on 2019-06-05. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
  17. ^ 鄭鴻生 (Zheng, Hongsheng) (June 15, 2002). "青年林正義之路 (The Road Taken by Youth Zhengyi Lin)". 文化研究月報 (Monthly Cultural Studies). 三角公園 (Triangle Park) (in Chinese) (16). Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China: 中華民國文化研究學會 (Cultural Studies Association of ROC). Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  18. ^ 凤凰网财经人物 (Phoenix Television: The People of Financial Circles), "林毅夫详细资料 (resume of Lin, Yifu)"[1] Archived 2022-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, Phoenix Television, 2010. (in Chinese)
  19. ^ Howe, Bob (October 14, 2008). "Chief World Bank Economist Honored by Fordham". Inside Fordham University online. Lincoln Center Campus New York, NY 10023: Fordham University. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  20. ^ Teagle, Melanie (2009). "One Hundred Sixty Fourth Annual Commencement". UNIVERSITY COMMENCEMENT. Lincoln Center Campus New York, NY 10023: Fordham University. Archived from the original on 2011-06-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  21. ^ Lin, Justin Yifu (2012). The Quest for Prosperity: How Developing Economies Can Take Off Justin Yifu Lin. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-15589-0.
  22. ^ "Organizational Structure". CF40. Archived from the original on 2021-11-25. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
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