President Lee Teng-hui today received two Nobel Prize winners in economics. He met this morning with Professor Robert William Fogel, the 1993 Nobel laureate in economics, and Mrs. Fogel. After greeting his visitors who have come from afar, President Lee exchanged views extensively with Professor Fogel on the current world economy.
The President said that the ROC has been least affected by the financial crisis in Southeast Asia, mainly because this country possesses its own capital and technology. Capital, technology and market are three vital factors for a country to develop, but if a country depends mostly on foreign countries for these developmental factors, it will be vulnerable to outside impacts, he elaborated.
Professor Fogel maintained that the development of high-technology industries is a future trend, which Southeast Asian countries should follow, and that education plays an essential role in the research and development of high technology.
Agreeing with Professor Fogel, President Lee said that brain power will weigh heavier than labor in the future information age, and that a higher quality labor force can be cultivated through education.
Accompanied by Chairman Huang Chen-tai of the National Science Council and Hu Sheng-cheng, director of the Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Professor and Mrs. Fogel visited President Lee at the Presidential Office. Ding Mou-shih, Secretary-General of National Security Council, and Su Chi, Deputy Secretary-General to the President, were also present.
Later in the afternoon, the President met with Professor Robert C. Merton, the Nobel winner in economics in 1997.
Renowned for his research on option pricing model, derivatives and financial engineering, Professor Merton specializes in financial theory of capital market and financial institutions. During the conversation, President Lee exchanged views with Professor Merton particularly on how a country plans for risk management in the current Asian financial crisis.
Professor Merton said that in financial management, both the private sector and government usually pay more attention to trade than to risk avoidance. Citing weather for instance, the professor said that a leak in the roof does not matter on sunny days, but it will not always be sunny. When it starts to rain, it will be too late to fix the leak. Therefore, how to plan beforehand to avoid risk is a serious task which Asian countries must face at this moment.
Consenting to Professor Merton's ideas, the President said that economic conditions and problems vary from country to country. Since many Asian countries need to rely on foreign technology, capital and market, the fundamental solution lies therefore in strengthening their own economies and financial management, President Lee added.
The ROC has been reputed as an "Asian miracle" for its ability to weather the Asian financial crisis. However, President Lee said that this is not a miracle, but rather the results of the toils and efforts of the ROC people and of the appropriate policies implemented by the ROC government.
Accompanied by Victor W. Liu, president of National Sun Yat-sen University, and David Shyu, director of the university's Department of Financial Management, Professor Merton and his son met with President Lee at the Presidential Office. Dr. Ding Mou-shih, Dr. Su Chi and Jin-fu Chang, vice chairman of National Science Council, were also present.