Dr. Thomas J. Sargent, the Nobel Laureate in Economics in 2011, was invited to give a speech at the Nobel Forum co-held by Asia University (AU) and Economic Daily News on Sep. 21. He suggested that students should develop professional skills no matter how bad the economy is.
Dr. Sargent together with Chris Sims was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics last year. He is currently a professor of economics at New York University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. He was invited to share his insights on inflation in the speech titled as “Inflation: New Challenge for Global Economy.”
At the beginning of the speech, Dr. Jeffrey J. P. Tsai, the president of AU stated that people are currently living in an age of uncertainty, facing unforeseen threats such as energy problems, climate changes, infectious diseases or global financial crises. Under such tough conditions, he believed that schools shoulder social responsibility to act as a platform for academic and social development to cope with these unforeseen problems.
The mayor of the Taichung City, Dr. Jason Hu also admired AU’s dedication to organizing the forum. “AU is the only school in Taiwan that invites the most Nobel Laureates to lecture,” added he. “It is definitely a precious opportunity for students and local citizens to have face-to-face conversations with the honorable Nobel Laureates,” said Mayor Hu.
In this forum, several students revealed their concerns on current poor career opportunities and low salaries in Taiwan. “Almost only a half of the college students can find a job in the first year after graduation,” said one of the students. Moreover, the average salaries of college graduates are lower than those in Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore.
Regarding the issue, Dr. Sargent pointed out that what college graduates should care is the job potential, not the cash. He encouraged students to develop professional skills and increase their employability before leaving school. However, he admitted that the choice of the major in college may impact one’s future career. In U.S., students with majors in computer or information science are popular in the job market, while students who study philosophy or psychology are less competitive.
Dr. Sargent’s speech has a profound impact on every participant in the Nobel Forum. Next month, AU will invite Dr. Christopher A. Sims, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics with Dr. Sargent, to visit AU and give a talk about global impacts of the central bank policies developed in the US and Europe.