On July 8, 2024, at 10:00 am, the 34th Forum on Digital Technology and Economic Finance Frontiers was successfully held. The theme of this lecture was "Household Sustainability", and the guest speaker was Professor Sumit Agarwal from the Business School of the National University of Singapore. The lecture was chaired by Jing Shi, Professor of the Finance School and  Chief Expert of the Innovation and Talent Base for Digital Technology and Finance. Yongbin Lv , deputy director of the Base, and researchers from the base attended the lecture.

At the beginning of the lecture, Professor Jing Shi briefly introduced relevant information of Professor Sumit Agarwal to the participants and expressed his sincere gratitude for his availability to give a lecture at our college despite his busy schedule.

During the lecture, Professor Sumit Agarwal delved into the significant impact of family sustainability on the future development of the earth. From the three dimensions of environment, economy, and society, the professor comprehensively analyzed how family decisions can profoundly affect environmental protection, social well-being, and financial stability. Through case studies, such as Singapore's "Zero Carbon Kids" program that effectively reduces household energy consumption, Professor Agarwal demonstrated specific strategies to promote family sustainability and their effectiveness.

Furthermore, he emphasized the pivotal role of enhancing household financial literacy and effective financial management in economic sustainability. Professor Agarwal called for a collective effort to promote sustainable development at both the household and societal levels, through fostering greater awareness of sustainability among families, coupled with policy support and financial technology tools, in order to contribute to building a greener, more harmonious, and prosperous future.

After the speech, the attendees engaged in an active and profound academic exchange with Professor Sumit Agarwal. They initiated heated discussions centered on the multifaceted issues of household sustainability. Participants actively shared their perspectives and raised questions, jointly exploring the challenges and opportunities facing household sustainability with Professor Agarwal, as well as ways to better translate research findings into practical actions. This exchange not only facilitated the collision and integration of academic ideas but also laid a solid foundation for further advancing the research field of household sustainability.

Finally, Professor Jing Shi expressed his gratitude to Professor Sumit Agarwal for his insightful speech, and the forum came to a successful conclusion.

Speaker Introduction

Sumit Agarwal is Low Tuck Kwong Distinguished Professor of Finance at the Business School and a Professor of Economics and Real Estate at the National University of Singapore. He is the Managing Director of Sustainable and Green Finance Institute at NUS. He is also the President of Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research. Sumit’s research interests include issues relating to household sustainablity, financial institutions, household finance, behavioral finance, and real estate markets. 

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.