Workshop at the Institute of Digital Finance

Digital technology is rapidly transforming the financial landscape around the world, by expanding scales, enhancing efficiency, improving user experience, controlling risks and reducing direct contacts. Digital finance not only creates new business practices but also extends financial services to customers underserved by traditional financial institutions. China is a leader of digital financial inclusion, especially in areas of mobile payment, online investment, bigtech credit and central bank digital currency. Therefore, digital finance is a global case of financial innovation. It is also an important China story.

Digital finance brings important changes to the Chinese economy, in terms of employment, income distribution, growth, macroeconomic and financial stability. For instance, data replacing collateral assets in credit risk assessment may weaken the asset price channel of the “financial accelerator” and support financial stability. In the meantime, financial risks also emerged in some digital financial businesses, such as the peer-to-peer lending and cash loans. Digital finance may also create new types of systemic financial risks, due to internet attacks, algorithm black boxes and even power outages.

China Economic Review, in collaboration with the Institute of Digital Finance (IDF) at Peking University, which is a leading center for academic and policy research in digital finance, plans to publish a special issue on “Digital Finance in China”. The organizers and guest editors welcome submission of theoretical and empirical papers in all fields of digital finance:

• Digital financial businesses such as mobile payment, online investment and internet loans
• Digitalization of financial institutions such as commercial banks
• Application of digital technology in capital markets
• Blockchain technology, cross-border payment and central bank digital currency
• Economic implications for jobs, income distribution, prices and macroeconomy
• Financial risk and financial stability in the era of digital technology

• And other related topics.

Professor Yiping Huang, National School of Development/Institute of Digital Finance, Peking University.

Associate Professor Zhuo Huang, National School of Development/Institute of Digital Finance, Peking University.

Professor Yan Shen, National School of Development/Institute of Digital Finance, Peking University.

Email: yshen@nsd.pku.edu.cn

The following dates are the key dates for this call for papers:

Start of paper submission: June 1, 2022

Deadline of submission: November 30, 2022

Workshop at the IDF: January 2023

Acceptance deadline: June 30, 2023

Expected publication: November 30, 2023

Please submit your manuscripts to the special issue under Article Type: “VSI: Digital Finance in China”.