Three research findings of IQDS were awarded the Outstanding Achievements Prize in the 14th Humanities and Social sciences Research Evaluation Campaign of Wuhan University. Among them, the paper written by Prof. Cheng Hong, entitled "The Basic Situation and Path Choice of Chinese Firms during Transformation and Upgrading - Based on the Analysis of 4794 Employees and 570 Enterprises" has won the first prize. The paper "Information Asymmetry and the Decline of the International Chinese Tea Trade in the Nineteenth Century: Based on an Examination of the Case of Hankou Port” written by Mr. Song Shilei and Dr. Li Dandan’s report of “Research on Transformation and Upgrading to Improve Quality and Efficiency of Manufacturing Enterprises in Guangdong” were awarded the second prize.
"The Basic Situation and Path Choice of Chinese Firms during Transformation and Upgrading - Based on the Analysis of 4794 Employees and 570 Enterprises" was published on China's economic management authority journal "Management World" in No. 2, 2016. Based on the CEES database, it analyzed that the overall situation of transformation and upgrading of Chinese enterprises remained gradually stabilized with obvious structural differentiation, particularly shown in 7 aspects such as performance, total factor productivity, entrepreneurial spirit and growth mode. The paper put forward the methods to accelerate the transformation and upgrading of Chinese enterprises as follows: to nurture market-oriented innovative entrepreneurial spirit; to speed up the transition from "profitability model by speed" to "profitability model by quality"; to increase investment on human resources so as to create dividend of human resources; to focus on the consistent improvement of technological innovation capacity. The author puts forward policy suggestions as well, that is, to develop a series of policies to speed up the transformation of "institutional entrepreneurs" to "innovative entrepreneurs"; to eliminate the "Paternalism" of the government and to speed up the withdrawal of "zombie enterprises" from the market; to vigorously develop the talent training system of human resources based on skilled talents; to promote the full supply of multiple quality signals in order to facilitate a quality market mechanism of good quality and reasonable prices.
“Research on Transformation and Upgrading to Improve Quality and Efficiency of Manufacturing Enterprises in Guangdong” is based on CEES database. It was a advisory report from the think tank after detailed analysis of and policy research on the development and problems facing Guangdong Province. The report was instructed and approved by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Party Secretary of Guangdong CPC Central Committee Hu Chunhua, the Former Governor of Guangdong Province Zhu Xiaodan, Vice Governor of Guangdong Province Yuan Baocheng and other party members and government leaders in Guangdong. The instruction pointed out that the proposal made by the report was an important reference for the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing industry in Guangdong Province. It was suggested that the related departments take the lead in formulating and implementing the action plan to upgrade the quality of manufacturing industry in Guangdong as requested by the General Secretary of Guangdong CPC Central Committee at the Central Economic Work Conference.
"Information Asymmetry and the Decline of the International Chinese Tea Trade in the Nineteenth Century: Based on an Examination of the Case of Hankou Port” provided a new interpretation of the decline of foreign tea trade market in late Qing Dynasty, stating that the information asymmetry was rooted in the shrinking foreign tea trade market. On the one hand, the paper provides a new way of thinking for the comprehensive and in-depth observation of the history. And on the other hand, it provides a useful reference and new practical direction for the development of China's international trade on how to alleviate or reduce the information asymmetry in the process of trade.