Last week saw Professor Hong Yongmiao of Cornell University come to Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and give an enthralling lecture about “Big Data, Complex Economic System and Econometric Modeling.”

Professor Hong Yongmiao is currently Ernest S. Liu Professor of Economics and International Studies in Department of Economics at Cornell University. He is a member of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and a Fellow of the Econometrics Society. His main research areas include model specification testing, nonlinear time series analysis, financial econometrics, and empirical studies on Chinese economy and financial markets.

Professor Hong Yongmiao pointed out that the modern economy is becoming increasingly complex. With the rapid development and wide application of information technology, complex systems have produced massive amounts of big data. Big data is usually complex in form and can provide lots of valuable new information with which to understand economic systems, while challenging traditional modeling theories and methods. Professor Hong Yongmiao cited several specific examples, such as the emotional index and policy uncertainty index, the identification of economic causality, the modeling of mixed data, and other possible development directions of econometrics in the era of big data.

During the Q&A session that followed his lecture, many audience members asked insightful questions, which were answered thoughtfully by Professor Hong Yongmiao.