Professor Robert A. Mundell, winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Economics He died in Italy on April 4, 2021 (Beijing time) at the age of 88.
Mr. Mundell is a professor of Columbia University in the United States, an honorary doctor and professor of Renmin University of China, and the initiator of the optimal currency region theory. He is known as the "father of the euro", and is also the main founder of macroeconomic theory under open conditions. For many years, he has served as the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Canadian government In 1999, Professor Mundell won the Nobel Prize in economics.
Robert? Professor Mundell's great contributions to economics are mainly Mundell Fleming model and the theory of optimal currency region. How does China treat Robert? Professor Mundell knows nothing better than the "impossible triangle". Impossible triangle refers to the dilemma faced by the choice of economic, social, fiscal and financial policy objectives, which makes it difficult to obtain three objectives at the same time. In terms of financial policy, the free flow of capital, the fixed exchange rate and the independence of monetary policy cannot have both.
Professor Mundell has a deep relationship with the School of Finance of Renmin University of China. In 1995, he came to China to give lectures for the Ford Foundation Project, a project of Sino US economic cooperation to train economic talents, which was warmly welcomed by young Chinese students. During this period, he also met with President Huang Da, who was then the chairman of the China US Economic Exchange Committee, and began to study and support China's economic and financial reform policies. At the same time, he also began to promote the cultivation of modern Chinese economic talents. In 2002, at the initiative of Professor Mundell, the School of Finance and Finance of Renmin University of China and the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Columbia University jointly cooperated in the training program for master students in economics of "economic policy and financial management", which became the highest level project of cooperation between famous universities at home and abroad at that time.
(Professor Robert Mondale visited Renmin University of China)
In 2001, Professor Mundell and Professor Huang Da, a famous economist in China, honorary president of the Chinese Financial Society and former president of Renmin University of China, jointly established the "Huang Da Mundell Economics Series Lectures". In order to explore outstanding economic talents, Professor Mondale and Professor Huang Da jointly founded the "Huang Da Mondale Excellent Doctoral Thesis Award" in 2002. Up to now, there have been 131 lectures given by 8 Nobel Prize winners at home and abroad; The "Huangda Mundell Prize for Economics" (formerly the "Huangda Mundell Prize for Excellent Doctoral Dissertation") has also been successfully held for 9 times, and 33 young talents have won the honor.
"Huang Da Mondale Economics Lecture"
The "Huang Da Mondale Economics Lecture" jointly sponsored by Renmin University of China's China Financial Policy Research Center, a key research base for humanities and social sciences of the Ministry of Education of China, and the School of Finance of Renmin University of China, is a series of economics lectures co titled by Professor Huang Da and Professor Mondale.
The goal of "Huangda Mundell Economics Lecture" is to build an important bridge for the exchange of economics between China and foreign countries and contribute to the development of China's financial theory research by continuously inviting high-level economists at home and abroad to the research base to hold high-level academic lectures that reflect the cutting-edge dynamics of economics, especially financial theory.
(Left: The launching ceremony of "Huang Da Mondale Lecture" was held in Renmin University of China. The picture shows Professor Robert Mondale giving a speech; right: Professor Robert Mondale inscribed for the Research Center for Fiscal and Financial Policy)
"Huangda Mondale Economics Award"
"Huangda Mundell Prize for Economics" was awarded by Robert? Professor Mundell and Professor Huang Da were jointly named. In December 2002, it was founded by the China Finance and Financial Policy Research Center of Renmin University of China, a key research base for humanities and social sciences of the Ministry of Education, and it is elected every two years.
The predecessor of this award is the "Huang Da Mondale Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Award". The participating essays must be doctoral dissertations that have passed the defense and recommended by their schools and supervisors. In order to further expand the popularity and influence of the award and make the selection results more open, fair and transparent, the award has been renamed "Mundell Huang Prize", and an evaluation committee composed of authoritative experts has been established. The selected topic of the thesis must be based on the frontier of the discipline, which has important theoretical and practical significance; It can reflect the development status of the discipline and related fields, and is at the leading level in the field of the discipline in China, or close to or even reach the international advanced level; With internationally accepted research methods, we have new research perspectives and insights, and have made breakthroughs in corresponding fields.
(Review of the ninth session: The 9th "Huangda Mondale Economics Prize" award ceremony and the academic seminar "Seventy Years of China's Finance: Review and Prospect" were successfully held
Notice on the 10th Selection: Notice on the Selection of the 10th "Huangda Mondale Economics Prize")
(Left: group photo of the first "Huangda Mondale Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Award" award ceremony and academic speech on March 19, 2003; right: Professor Mondale delivers a speech on the first "Huangda Mondale Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Award" award ceremony)
(Professor Mundell attended the second session in 2005
Award Ceremony of "Huangda Mondale Economics Award")
(Professor Mundell attended the third "Huangda Mundell Economics Award" in 2007
Award Ceremony and Nobel Economics Prize Winner's Academic Speech)
(Professor Mundell attended the fourth "Huangda Mundell Economics Award" in 2009
Award Ceremony and Academic Speech)
(Professor Mundell and Professor Huang Da jointly attended the fifth session
Huangda Mundell Economics Award Ceremony
And the release of RMB Internationalization Report 2012)
Cooperation between Professor Mundell and research institutions of the School of Finance
Professor Mundell has been the director of the academic committee of the Institute of International Monetary Studies, School of Finance, Renmin University of China since 2009. In 2017, the International Monetary Research Institute set up the International Committee, and Professor Robert Mondale became the director of the International Committee. Since he became acquainted with the School of Finance of Renmin University of China, Robert E? Professor Mundell has participated in many activities such as lectures, forums and speeches sponsored by the School of Finance and Public Finance, the China Center for Fiscal and Financial Policy Research and the International Monetary Research Institute, and has given recognition and support.
In 2011, Professor Robert Mundell delivered a keynote speech on the causes of the euro debt crisis and the logic of the evolution of the international monetary system at the autumn forum of the monetary and financial round table entitled "The European debt crisis and its impact on China's economy", which was hosted by the International Monetary Research Institute of Renmin University of China. Robert? Professor Mundell proposed that the European debt crisis and the collapse of the international monetary system, especially the final collapse of the Bretton Woods system, are interrelated. On the relationship between the euro and the European debt crisis, Robert? Professor Mundell believes that the European debt crisis is not completely equivalent to the euro crisis. Even without the euro, countries like Greece that only adopt currency devaluation to deal with economic difficulties will also have a currency crisis.
(Professor Robert Mundell at the International Monetary Research Institute
Speech at the Autumn Forum of the Monetary and Financial Roundtable (autumn 2011)
On November 4, 2003, Professor Robert Mondale attended the launching ceremony of "Huang Da Mondale Lecture Collection" and gave a speech entitled "Globalization and RMB Exchange Rate". Robert? Professor Mundell analyzed the RMB exchange rate system from the background of global economic integration and technological progress, and put forward valuable suggestions on the future trend of the RMB exchange rate and its positioning in the Asian monetary system. Robert? Professor Mundell believes that China should keep the RMB exchange rate stable. Japan should also stabilize the yen, and we should also establish the Asian Monetary Fund to maintain the choice of countries in establishing the future world monetary system.
On October 10, 2006, in a speech entitled "China's macroeconomic strategy in the current international environment", Robert H? Professor Mundell discussed China's macroeconomic strategy on the appreciation pressure on the RMB, and thought about the countermeasures that China should take in the long and short term. Robert? Professor Mundell believes that the Chinese government should not pay too much attention to the pressure of the US government on the appreciation of the RMB against the US dollar, and should not fundamentally change the exchange rate regime to allow the RMB exchange rate to float freely. Strategically, China's balance of payments should be affected by the regulation of the real economy, so as to reduce the current account surplus in the next two years and balance the balance of payments as a whole. However, in terms of foreign exchange management, the control of RMB exchange can be appropriately relaxed.
As an important international scholar who has been supporting and concerned about the development of the School of Finance and Economics of Renmin University of China, and as an "old friend" who has been concerned about China's economic and financial development, Professor Robert Mundell's death makes us feel sorry. Thank you for your support for the development of the School of Finance and Economics of Renmin University of China, and wish you a good journey!