China Financial Services Theory Frontier 4

Author: He Dexu, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: This book focuses on the new achievements of Chinese scholars on financial issues in China. It studies the restructuring of the financial system to support sustainable economic development from the perspective of general equilibrium economics or holistic economics, aligning with the trend of financial globalization and emphasizing the service functions of credit, capital markets, and interest rates. It evolves from the theory of financial intermediation to the theory of financial omnichannel, proposing the concept of high risk and high return, highlighting the importance of human capital and information resources. It views finance as a crucial tool for national macro-control, focusing on the positive and negative impacts of adjustments in national economic policies.
[Preface] Preface
To summarize the theoretical development and research progress in China's fiscal, financial, foreign economic trade, and commercial economy during a certain historical period, systematically reflect the new research achievements and academic advancements in the aforementioned fields and disciplines, provide background materials and important academic references for future in-depth research, lay a foundation for further innovation and development of China's economic theory, and also provide a convenient "window" for foreign scholars to understand China's economic theory, the Institute of Finance and Trade Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has been organizing the compilation of the "Frontiers of Chinese Economic Science Series" since 1999, a series of theoretical collections of significant theoretical, academic, and decision-making reference value, consisting of four volumes: "Frontiers of Chinese Fiscal Theory," "Frontiers of Chinese Financial Theory," "Frontiers of Chinese Foreign Economic and Trade Theory," and "Frontiers of Chinese Commercial Theory."
From the very beginning, the positioning of this "series" was very clear. First, its theoretical or academic nature, focusing on reflecting the theoretical research and important academic viewpoints in the aforementioned four fields or disciplines during a certain historical period. Second, its historical nature, reflecting the theoretical development context or trajectory during a specific period. Third, its forward-looking nature, proposing perspectives and prospects for further in-depth research after summarizing and reviewing the relevant theories of a certain historical stage. Fourth, the close integration of theory and practice, as well as academic research and policy-oriented research.
The "series" has already published three volumes (respectively in February 2000, June 2001, and December 2003). Since its publication, the "series" has received strong positive feedback from all sectors of society. It has not only become an important reference for researchers and policymakers but also a key reference book for teaching in finance and economics universities and for training professionals in relevant departments. Undoubtedly, the "series" has provided a solid foundation for further research for those engaged in research and teaching in related economic fields, and has offered a valuable clue for those interested in China's economic issues and the development of China's economic theory. It is entirely reasonable to say that the publication of the "series" has achieved significant social benefits and met our expectations.
A special note is needed here. In March 2003, the Institute of Finance of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was established on the basis of the Financial Research Office of the Institute of Finance and Trade Economics, becoming an affiliated research institution under our academy. At the same time, the research focus of the Institute of Finance and Trade Economics was also re-adjusted and re-combined—explicitly positioning service economy as one of the main research directions and characteristics. As a result, the focus of financial research in the Institute of Finance and Trade Economics also shifted accordingly—emphasizing the study of financial services. To adapt to this change, when organizing the compilation of the fourth volume of the "series," we renamed "Frontiers of Chinese Financial Theory" to "Frontiers of Chinese Financial Service Theory."
There is another consideration for this adjustment. As is well-known, finance is both a system (institution) and an industry (industry), and in a certain sense, it may even be more importantly an industry. When finance is a system, financial institutions become the managers of social funds; when finance is an industry, financial institutions become companies or enterprises that provide financial intermediation services. When we observe and explore financial issues from the perspective of an industry, we find that China's financial development still faces a rather heavy task—requiring further deepening of institutional reforms, continued expansion of opening-up efforts, especially further expansion in scale, improvement in structure, and enhancement in efficiency, as well as continuous improvement in overall strength and comprehensive competitiveness to better play the role of finance in promoting economic growth. However, what we see is that in recent years, there have been few theoretical achievements in China on financial issues from the perspective of an industry, and research on financial industrial organization, financial industrial structure, financial industrial competition, financial industrial linkage, and financial industrial efficiency remains relatively weak. As a result, the lag in financial service theory research has significantly impacted and even constrained the development of China's financial industry to a large extent.
Based on these considerations, we organized experts and scholars in the field of finance to compile this "Frontiers of Chinese Financial Service Theory." Our original intention is to attract attention and interest in financial service theory research, invite more colleagues to join the research team of financial service theory, produce more research achievements in financial service theory, promote the prosperity of financial service theory research in China, and provide more theoretical and intellectual support for the better and faster development of China's financial service industry.
Of course, due to limitations in time, conditions, level, and ability, especially as a first attempt, there are inevitably some shortcomings and deficiencies in the selection of themes, determination of content, arrangement of structure, refinement of viewpoints, and writing style of "Frontiers of Chinese Financial Service Theory." We will make up for and improve these shortcomings in our future work.
The already published "Frontiers of Chinese Financial Theory" has received the attention, encouragement, and support of a wide readership, and we express our sincere gratitude. The upcoming "Frontiers of Chinese Financial Service Theory" (Volume 4) also hopes to continue to receive the care, help, and favor of the readers. In particular, we hope to receive various criticisms and suggestions from the readers.
Institute of Finance and Trade Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
May 8, 2005