About IEAS   AAThe Institute of Economics was officially established on February 1, 1970, after more than seven years' preparation. Dr. Mu-Huan Hsing served as its first Director, followed by Dr. Tzong-Shian Yu, Dr. Paul Ke-Chih Liu, Dr. Yung-San Lee, Dr. Jia-Dong Shea, and Dr. Sheng-Cheng Hu; the current director is Dr. Chung-Ming Kuan. The Institute currently boasts ofA forty-two faculty members in total, including two Distinguished Research Fellows, twenty-two Research Fellows, eleven Associate Research Fellows, nine Assistant Research Fellows and one Assistant. There are also ten Correspondent Research Fellows, three jointly-appointed Research Fellows, and three Adjunct Research Fellows.   AAIn the early years, the Institute focused its research on local issues. Bringing both domestic and international economists together, we undertook a series of research projects surrounding Taiwan's economic development, such as On Current Prices in Taiwan, The Directions and Strategies of Taiwan's Economic Development, Human Resources in Taiwan, Econometric Modeling of the Taiwanese Economy, Income Distribution in Taiwan, The Development of Taiwan's Financial Sector, and so forth. In addition to empirical studies, recently we have also placed emphasis on theoretical research. Moreover, in order to obtain a global perspective and promote interactions with international scholars, we have been organizing international conferences and sponsoring joint research and exchange programs.   AAThe Institute values the continuing education of its faculty. Research leaves abroad and international guest speakers provide our researchers with plenty of opportunities to collaborate with international scholars. We also assist local universities in graduate teaching and thesis supervising. In recent years, the Institute has participated in programs sponsored by Academia Sinica, such as "Academia Sinica Fellowships for Doctoral Candidates in Humanities and Social Sciences," "Postdoctoral Fellows Appointment," and "Visiting Fellowships for Domestic Scholars," and so forth. The institute also hosts the "Workshops on Advanced Economic Research" sponsored by the National Science Council. To cultivate outstanding economists, we are constantly augmenting our research resources such as library collections, reference databases, and computer equipments.   AAThe Institute launched two journals, Taiwan Economic Forecasts and Policiy in 1970 and Academia Economic Papers in 1973 respectively. Academia Economic Papers is the first domestic journal to be included in the citations of Journal of Economic Literature by the American Economic Association. The National Science Council rated it "Outstanding Journal" in 1999, and we are working toward its inclusion in the SSCI. A pioneering journal in domestic economic forecasting, Taiwan Economic Forecasts and Policies carries biannual reports of yearly forecasts and analyses of current policies. It has become an important reference for the academia, the government, and the industries over the years. In addition, our publication committee also publishes proceedings of domestic and international conferences and, with the cooperation of the British publisher Edward Elgar, the monograph series, Academia Studies in Asian Economies. So far we have put out five books in the series.   AADevoted to improving the academic performance of domestic economic community, the Institute, in addition to publishing journals and monographs and organizing conferences, also invites internationally renowned economists to sequences of seminars, such as the "Contemporary Master Economists Lecture Series" and the "Chinese Economics Lecture Series." Besides, we have established rigorous evaluation standards for faculty appointment and promotion, which encourage our researchers to achieve a higher level of scholarly performance. As a result, many of our researchers received honors, such as the "Outstanding Scholar Awards" from the Foundation for the Advancement of Outstanding Scholarship, the "Academic Awards" from the Ministry of Education, the "Outstanding Research Awards" from the National Science Council, and the "Academia Sinica Research Award for Junior Research Investigators." In 1999, the National Science Council established in our Institute its Center for Research in Social Sciences, a recognition of our leading status in research. "Academic Excellence" has always been our goal, and we are striving towards "Number One in Asia, and First Class in the World."