Kobe University

"The 5th Annual International Conference on Applied Econometrics in Hawaii"was held on September 17-18

October 17, 2019

The fifth 'International Conference on Applied Econometrics in Hawaii' was held on September 17 and 18 with great success. This conference is one of the flagship events organized by the Graduate School of Economics at Kobe University with the aim of becoming a top-class research institution worldwide. Scholars from the University of Hawaii and three prominent universities in Asia participated in this very fulfilling research conference.

Participants shared their papers before the conference, enabling them to  throughly read about each others' research. In addition, presentations followed by comments from the discussants and the floor allowed us to have in-depth discussions about the research contents. The presentations, comments, and discussions were all of a high standard, and the event fueled participants' enthusiasm for research. There was a friendly atmosphere, with the participants all staying in the same hotel, which cultivated great expectations for future international collaborations. This event also gave invaluable international experience to the two doctoral students who presented their papers. They were chosen as delegates as part of Kobe University's Project for Promotion of Global Human Resources Development.

This year, Professor Timothy Halliday, the Chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, gave a keynote speech titled "Expanding Health Insurance for the Elderly of the Philippines." Professor Denise Konan, the Dean of the College of Social Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, also participated in the conference and made closing remarks.

From the Graduate School of Economics at Kobe University, Professor Noritsugu Nakanishi, Professor Tomoko Kinugasa, Professor Kenji Takeuchi, Associate Professor Kazufumi Yugami, Associate Professor Jun Goto, Assistant Professor Junichi Yamasaki, and two doctoral students participated in active discussions on two consecutive days. On the day before the conference, Professor Nakanishi, Professor Kinugasa, and Professor Takeuchi visited Dean Denise Konan at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and had a fruitful and meaningful exchange of opinions on future research collaborations.

The specific details of the conference were as follows:

(Graduate School of Economics)