On November 29, 2023, at 2:00 pm, the 21st Forum on Digital Technology and Economic Finance Frontiers was successfully held. The theme of the lecture was "Combination of theoretical research and empirical research", and the guest speaker was Professor Lei Lu from the University of Manitoba's Asper School of Business.The lecture was chaired by Professor Yongbin Lv, Vice Dean of the Finance School and Deputy Director of the Innovation and Talent Base for Digital Technology and Finance. All graduate students and researchers of the School of Finance attended the lecture.

At the beginning of the lecture, Professor Yongbin Lv briefly introduced Professor Lei Lu's relevant information to the participants and expressed his heartfelt gratitude to him for taking the time to give a lecture at our university.

During the lecture, Professor Lei Lu introduced how to combine theoretical research and empirical research in the process of writing papers, as well as the things to be noted when selecting journals. He also provided detailed analysis of the writing skills of such articles, taking two published articles as examples.

Finally, the participants had active academic exchanges with Professor Lei Lu, discussing how to balance theoretical research and empirical research. Professor Lei Lu provided detailed answers to the questions and puzzles of the teachers and students. Professor Yongbin Lv expressed his gratitude to Professor Lei Lu for his speech, and the forum came to a successful conclusion.

Speaker Introduction

Lu Lei, Ph.D. in Finance from McGill University, Canada, is a full professor (tenure-track) at the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba, Canada, and a Bryce Douglas Professor of Finance. He is also a doctoral supervisor and the head of the graduate program. Professor Lu Lei's research interests include asset pricing (theoretical and empirical), behavioral finance, household finance, and international finance. His research has been published in high-level financial and economic journals such as Management Science, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control (twice), Journal of Corporate Finance, Financial Research, and Journal of Management Science. He has also led a general project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, a project of the Shanghai Pujiang Talent Program, and a research project of the China Financial Futures Exchange. Currently, he serves as deputy editor of Accounting and Finance and China Financial Review International.

Frontier Forum for Digital Technology and Finance introduction

Recent years have witnessed a dramatic acceleration in a digital revolution in economic sectors and a rapid adoption of the new generation of information technologies, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, big data, etc. These technologies effectively set off the digital economy. It has become a key driving force in creating global economic growth, improving the modernization level of governance capabilities, and promoting high-quality economic development in China. In particular, digital finance is the most important part of the digital economy. To explore the development direction of the cross-integration of digital technology and finance, the Innovation and Talent Base for Digital Technology and Finance is hosting the “Frontier Forum for Digital Technology and Finance”, in collaboration with the School of Finance, Wenlan School of Business, Economics School, School of Information and Safety Engineering, School of Statistics and Mathematics, School of Public Finance and Taxation of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL). This lecture series will invite the well-known scholars at home and abroad in digital technology, digital economy, digital finance, and other related fields as guest speakers, providing an open and cutting-edge academic exchange platform for interdisciplinary research on digital technology and finance.