The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST) was ranked the top university in economics and finance research in Asia-Pacific, according to two independent international studies.
Submitted to the official journal of the European Economics Association, a study conducted between 1995-1999 and entitled "Rankings of Academic Journals and Institutions in Economics" lists 200 universities worldwide according to their research output in 30 of the most important economics journals. Only 22 schools from the Asia-Pacific region made the ranking with HKUST leading the pack (see list 1). Places represented are Australia (6), Japan (6), Hong Kong (3), Korea (3), India, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan (1 each).
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On a global basis, HKUST places 37th, surrounded by such major research universities as the University of Southern California (36th), Ohio State University (38th), Cambridge (39th) and Oxford (40th).
Another study on finance research output, forthcoming in the journal titled Financial Management, also names HKUST as the top university in the region. The journal is published by the Financial Management Association International, a global leader in developing and disseminating knowledge about financial decision-making.
Entitled "Production in the Finance Literature, Institutional Reputation, and Labor Mobility in Academia: a Global Perspective", the research paper selected 100 of the world's most productive universities in finance research between 1996 and 2001. By comparing the results in the world's top three finance journals, namely, the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics and the Review of Financial Studies, only three institutions from Asia-Pacific are included (see list 2), HKUST (34th), the University of Auckland (65th) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (89th). HKUST ranks higher than other well-known universities such as the University of Virginia (36th), University of British Columbia (37th), and Washington University at St. Louis (38th).
When the base of comparison is broadened to include the top 16 finance journals, instead of the top three, four universities from the region are included (see list 3). HKUST's position rises to 19th, in the same league as Yale (18th), University of Southern California (20th), Purdue (21st) and UC Berkeley (22nd).
Both research rankings were based on the total page counts, standardized to the average page length of the American Economic Review in the case of the economics rankings, and the Journal of Finance, in the case of the finance rankings.
Researchers of the two studies noted a growing presence of non-American schools in the contribution to world-class academic research.
Authors of the economics research, Pantelis Kalaitzidakis of the Univerity of Crete, Theofanis Mamuneas of the University of Leicester and Thanasis Stengos of the University of Guelph, wrote in their paper "it is interesting to note the presence of the Asian universities that appears in the group of the top 200. In particular, we note that one university from Hong Kong [HKUST] is placed in the top 50".
Kam Chan, Carl Chen and Thomas Steiner of the University of Dayton, researchers of the finance rankings, highlighted HKUST as one of "only three non-North American institutions in the top-50 ranked institutions", together with the London Business School and the UK's City University Business School.
Professor Paul Chu, President of HKUST, congratulated professors at the Economics and Finance departments on their research achievements. He said: "Thanks to our distinguished faculty, HKUST has once again made its mark in two highly competitive academic areas. The two departments compare favorably with other world- renowned institutions. The results befit the status of Hong Kong as a leading international finance center in the region and will help to put Hong Kong on the world map of top quality research."
Professor K.C. Chan, Dean of HKUST Business School, said: "The rankings testify to HKUST's on-going quest for research excellence. It is gratifying to see that the relentless hard work of our faculty has brought them the recognition that they so well deserve. Research in economics and finance is highly relevant and creates valuable insights that can be readily applied by professionals in the fields. By publishing our research in the world's leading journals, our faculty members contribute also to providing an Asian perspective in defining the future best practices in those two areas."
The two research papers can be accessed via the web:
"Rankings of Academic Journals and Institutions in Economics" http://www.le.ac.uk/economics/research/rankings/eearank.pdf
"Production in the Finance Literature, Institutional Reputation, and Labor Mobility in Academia: a Global Perspective"
http://faculty.sba.udayton.edu/chan/moveup.pdf
List 1 - The Top 5 and Asia-Pacific Universities in the Economics Research World 200 Rankings, 1995-99
|
Asia-Pacific Rankings |
Universities |
World Rankings |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Harvard |
1 |
|
|
U of Chicago |
2 |
|
|
MIT |
3 |
|
|
Northwestern |
4 |
|
|
U Penn |
5 |
|
|
: |
: |
|
1 |
HKUST |
37 |
|
2 |
Australian National U |
62 |
|
3 |
U of New South Wales, Australia |
81 |
|
4 |
Chinese U of HK |
84 |
|
5 |
Osaka U, Japan |
105 |
|
6 |
U of Tsukuba, Japan |
116 |
|
7 |
Indian Statistical Institute |
120 |
|
8 |
U of Tokyo, Japan |
136 |
|
9 |
U of Melbourne |
139 |
|
10 |
Seoul City U, Korea |
144 |
|
11 |
National U of Singapore |
156 |
|
12 |
U of HK |
164 |
|
13 |
Monash U |
168 |
|
14 |
U. Western Australia |
173 |
|
15 |
Soongsil U, Korea |
176 |
|
16 |
Tohoku U, Japan |
178 |
|
17 |
Ewha U, Korea |
179 |
|
18 |
National Taiwan U |
181 |
|
19 |
Kyoto U, Japan |
183 |
|
20 |
Victoria U Wellington, New Zealand |
187 |
|
21 |
Hitosubashi U, Japan |
195 |
|
22 |
U of Sydney |
199 |
List 2 - The Top 5 and Asia-Pacific Universities in the Finance Research World 100 Rankings, 1996-2001 - By Top 3 Journals
|
Asia-Pacific Rankings |
Universities |
World Rankings |
|---|---|---|
|
|
U Penn |
1 |
|
|
New York U |
2 |
|
|
U of Chicago |
3 |
|
|
Harvard |
4 |
|
|
UCLA |
5 |
|
|
: |
: |
|
1 |
HKUST |
34 |
|
2 |
U of Auckland, New Zealand |
65 |
|
3 |
Chinese University of HK |
89 |
List 3 - The Top 5 and Asia-Pacific Universities in the Finance Research World 100 Rankings, 1996-2001 - By Top 16 Journals
|
Asia-Pacific Rankings |
Universities |
World Rankings |
|---|---|---|
|
|
New York U |
1 |
|
|
U Penn |
2 |
|
|
Harvard |
3 |
|
|
U Chicago |
4 |
|
|
UCLA |
5 |
|
|
: |
: |
|
1 |
HKUST |
19 |
|
2 |
Chinese U of HK |
43 |
|
3 |
National U of Singapore |
74 |
|
4 |
U of New South Wales, Australia |
75 |