The 13th Annual Conference of the Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research (ABFER) convened in Singapore from May 18-21, 2026, bringing together leading financial economists from around the world for scholarly exchange.
Professor Jun Pan (Professor of Finance, SAIF Chair Professor) and Professor Xiaoyun Yu (SAIF Chair Professor of Finance) attended alongside PhD students Yichen Wang, Naide Ye and Xingjian Zheng, presenting their latest research.
Organized by ABFER, this year’s conference featured academic sessions, poster presentations, keynote speeches, and master classes across 12 thematic tracks: International Macroeconomics; Money and Banking; Corporate Finance; Investment and Financing; Trade, Growth and Development; Accounting; Real Estate and Urban Economics; Household Finance; Sustainable and Green Finance; Labor Economics; Technology, Digital Markets and Artificial Intelligence; and two newly added tracks—Behavioral, Experimental Economics and Finance, and Health Economics.
SAIF scholars had four papers selected for presentation in the academic sessions: “Pricing the Global Trade Vulnerability” by Professor Jun Pan and co-author Jiatao Liu; “Unreadable Political Trades” by Professor Xiaoyun Yu and co-authors Ziming Dong and Nancy R. Xu; “Strategic Capture of Monitors: Evidence from Pollution Control in China” by SAIF Chair Professor of Finance Yongxiang Wang, doctoral student Naide Ye, and co-author Raymond Fisman; and “Memory and Generative AI” by doctoral student Xingjian Zheng. Following the conference’s rigorous academic protocol, each paper was allocated a one-hour session featuring a 25-minute presentation, a 20-minute discussion, and a 15-minute Q&A. This format not only ensured thorough presentation of the research but also provided SAIF scholars with valuable peer feedback, laying a solid foundation for further refinement.
The poster session served as an efficient platform for early-career researchers to showcase their work and foster academic exchange. Of the 93 poster submissions received, only 15 were accepted. SAIF doctoral student Yichen Wang’s independent poster, “Trade Diversion and Government-Led Credit Provision: Evidence from China’s VAT Rebate Loan Program,” was successfully selected and presented, ultimately receiving an honorable mention with a fourth-place ranking—a testament to the international competitiveness of SAIF programs.
As a member of the ABFER Executive Committee and a Senior Fellow, Professor Jun Pan was invited to chair the Ph.D. Posters Session for the second consecutive year and presented awards to the winners. In her remarks, she emphasized that the poster session provides a platform for young scholars in economics and finance to connect, facilitating the dissemination of research and the exchange of ideas, and offering strong support for their academic development.
In parallel with the annual conference, the Asian Monetary Policy Forum (AMPF) was held as a high-level closed-door platform, offering an opportunity for in-depth dialogue between global scholars and policymakers—particularly benefiting macro-economists seeking to align their research with policy practice.
Co-founded by distinguished scholars from Asia, North America, and Europe, ABFER serves as a premier research network modeled after the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). The organization advances Asia-Pacific focused financial and economic research while facilitating meaningful dialogue among academics, practitioners, and policymakers to strengthen institutional research capacity and promote sustainable development.
SAIF’s sustained participation in ABFER conferences reflects its position at the forefront of global financial research. Since its inception in 2009, SAIF has been committed to establishing a world-class institution within China, distinguished by a first-rate faculty, exceptional finance talent, an open research platform, and a preeminent think tank. It also strives to become the academic authority on global research into China’s economic and financial issues, as well as the leader in China’s research on global economic and financial matters.
To date, SAIF scholars have published over 100 papers in leading international journals across finance, accounting, management, economics, operations research, and other disciplines. Several SAIF professors serve as co-chairs of major international finance conferences, and as editors-in-chief or associate editors of top finance journals such as the Review of Finance, the Journal of Finance, as well as the premier management journal Management Science. SAIF faculty have repeatedly received prestigious academic awards both domestically and internationally, including the China Economics Prize, the Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Award, the Distinguished Research Contribution Award in Accounting Literature, the Outstanding Research Achievement Award in Higher Education Institutions from the Ministry of Education, and the Best Paper Award at the China International Conference in Finance (CICF).
