On May 17^th of 2016, the 48^thMaxdo International Economics Celebrity Forum was held in Jingshi Building. Hosted by Prof. Yang Chengyu of BNU Business School, the invited guest speakerof this forum was Prof. Joaquín Lavín Infante from the Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD).

Prof. Yang began by a brief introduction of Prof. Joaquín Lavín Infante, a Chilean politician and economist. He is a member of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party and former mayor of Santiago and Las Condes municipalities of capital Santiago. He is now Dean of the Business School of the Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD).

Prof. Yang Chengyu’s Opening Speech

The guest professor appointment ceremony for Prof. Joaquín Lavín Infante was held afterwards; Prof. Chen Guangju, the Vice President of Beijing Normal University attended this ceremony to issue Prof. Infante his appointment certificate.

BNU Vice President Prof. Chen Guangju and Prof. Joaquín Lavín Infante

After the ceremony, Prof. Joaquín Lavín Infante began by introducing his academic and political achievements. Then he introduced the economic development situations of Chile. Data showed that since 1975, the GNP of Chile grew rapidly, and Chile developed faster than other Latin American countries such as Argentina and Mexico.What is the reason behind Chile’s rapid economic growth and how could its fast development inspire us?Prof. Joaquín Lavín Infante then introduced his research results – “A Fast Track Way to Reduce Poverty”. In Which he introduced poverty from different aspects such as the lack of income and the definition of the poverty line. Prof. Joaquín LavínInfante then referred to Muhammad’s book “Creating a World Without Poverty” and recommended it to everyone. Afterwards, he introduced the development experiences of Chile and other Latin American countries: 1. Poverty equals the lack of opportunities; 2.Welfare itself couldn’t solve the problem, more work opportunities is required; 3. Women play an important role. A truly good financial aid policy should be one that concerns poverty, but not just rely on income supplement. To end his speech, Prof. Joaquín Lavín Infante hoped that the development research experiences of Chile and other countries could inspire China’s economic development, and once again thanked BNU Business School for their invitation to this forum.

Prof. Joaquín Lavín Infante

In the end of this forum, Prof. Yang concluded themain contentsof Prof. Infante’s speech; attendants were active to raise questions regarding poverty and happiness, which Prof. Infante answered and discussed with them; the forum ended in warm applauseafter the interactive session.

(Article Submission: Song Jing)