The Center for Asian Studies presents the sixth annual Wan-Lin Kiang Lecture   
 
"The Future of Inequality in China" 
featuring  Carl Riskin, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Queens College, City University of New York  
 
Thursday, May 7, 2009 
 
Reception: 6:00-7:00 p.m. 
UC Irvine Student Center, Doheny Beach B
 
Lecture: 7:00-8:30 p.m. 
UC Irvine Student Center, Doheny Beach A 
 
Please RSVP by May 1, 2009 to Sandra Cushman,  scushman@uci.edu or 949-824-3344.
 
About the lecture:
In two decades, China has gone from a relatively egalitarian country to one of the most unequal in its region.  In his lecture, "The Future of Inequality in China," Dr. Riskin will address how China has recently shown signs of curtailing its "retreat from equality" and adopting a more balanced model of development.  He will address the impediments to implementing such a change and the uncertainties with the current sharp global recession.
 
About the speaker:
Carl Riskin received his B.A. from Harvard College and his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.  He taught at Columbia University before going to Queens College.  His research interests include the modern economic history of China, the economics of development and environmental economics.  In recent years, he has focused on contemporary social development problems in China, including poverty reduction and the growth of income inequality.  In addition to his academic work, he has consulted for the United Nations Development Programme in China and elsewhere. 
 
About the Center for Asian Studies:
Comprised of more than 40 interdisciplinary UC Irvine faculty members who study China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia, the Center for Asian Studies was established to enhance the study of the many countries and cultures of Asia.  The Center provides a forum for discussions across geographic and disciplinary boundaries both on campus and throughout the community.

About Dr. Kiang:  
Dr. Kiang graduated from National Taiwan University with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. He went on to earn a master’s from New York University and his doctorate in systems sciences from Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Kiang was a member of the American Economic Association, Association of International Business, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). In 1991, he was elected as international counselor and senior member of the prestigious Conference Board.  Dr. Kiang taught for many years at California State University’s School of Business Administration in Long Beach. He was also director of management sciences atNational Chiao-Tung University in Taiwan and founder of Taiwan’s Academy of Management Sciences. Among many of his appointments, he served as advisor to the Commission of National Enterprises, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan Power Corp., and RSEA.  In 1983, at the request of the acting governor of the Central Bank and chair of the Economic Development Council, Dr. Kiang returned to Taiwan and was appointed president and CEO of the China Development Corporation (CDC), Taiwan’s premier industrial development bank. On the verge of collapse, Dr. Kiang orchestrated CDC’s complete recovery, and in 1993, Euromoney elected CDC as the “Best Financial Institution in Taiwan.” In 1984, Dr. Kiang served as chairman of China Security Investment Trust Corporation, China Venture Management, Inc., and China Venture Capital Association, among over forty other public companies and organizations.   He wrote and published on technical, economic, managerial, financial, and banking matters, including two books in Chinese, Industrial Innovation and Vision and Development.  In 1993, Dr. Kiang shifted his work to China and was appointed as an advisory professor of Shanghai Chiao-Tung University and Zhejiang University. He was also a visiting professor of management at Tsinghua University in Beijing. In February 1994, he joined Emerging Markets Corporation as a senior executive in charge of Asian operations, responsible for providing guidance over the AIG Asian Infrastructure Fund – a billion dollar direct investment fund for China and ASEAN countries based in Hong Kong. He formed Sino-Century Capital and Development LTD in 1999 which now has offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xiain and Taipei.

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