新晋诺奖得主Paul Romer忆上纽任教经历赞首届学生“头脑开放，善于思辨”

2020-6-27 04:35:49

上海纽约大学NYUShanghai

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北京时间10月8日，2018年诺贝尔经济学奖被授予纽约大学斯特恩商学院经济学教授Paul M. Romer，他曾于2013至2014学年在上海纽约大学任教。

这一消息宣布不久后，正在纽约进行访问的上海纽约大学常务副校长雷蒙，与Paul Romer教授会面。他对Romer教授表示祝贺，两人回顾了共同在上纽大执教“全球视野下的社会”必修课的时光。

上海纽约大学NYUShanghai

雷蒙校长：Romer教授，您在上海纽约大学授课期间，是否有机会了解更多有关中国及其经济发展的情况，并将其运用于您的经济学理论与实践中？

Paul Romer教授：当然！在任教上纽大之前，我曾发表过一篇关于经济增长基础要素的非技术性论文。来到中国后，我曾前往深圳会晤当地政府官员，探讨中国改革开放的政策与路径。此后，我对先前发表的那篇文章进行了修改，加入了更多介绍深圳30年来经济发展成就的内容。可以说这一时期，深圳的GDP增速一度创造了历史新高，成为世界罕见的“深圳速度”。

雷蒙校长：对于我们合作讲授“全球视野下的社会”必修课，最令您印象深刻的是什么？

Paul Romer教授：我们有一群非常出色的学生，当年有150名学生来自中国，150名学生来自世界各地。我们一同研究并学习全球伟大思想家的著作：墨子、孟德斯鸠、康德、马克思、司马迁、邓小平等等。学生们都很积极投入，擅于对具有挑战性的议题进行严谨、激烈的讨论，论证、探讨作者的想法和彼此的想法。同学们的头脑活跃、开放，善于思辨，敢于直接表达观点。他们也欢迎不同意见，并不抗拒改变自己的想法。当然，我们两个也是如此！

雷蒙校长：在上海工作生活期间，最难忘的是什么？

Paul Romer教授：每当我有机会在一座新的城市工作生活时，我都会关注该城市采取何种创新措施应对其都市发展所面临的挑战。其中一个就是关于汽车与人类生活的议题：如何在不损害社区生活质量的前提下，通过高速公路让汽车在城市周边快速通行？我注意到，和很多其他城市相比，上海的城市高架桥距地面位置更高，这可以降低对桥下行人的影响。

雷蒙校长：目前正着手进行的经济研究课题是什么？

Paul Romer教授：人类社会会使用复杂的系统来完成任务。这些复杂的系统，推动社会不断前进，而不会陷入停滞或倒退。于我个人而言，我对人类社会称之为“科学”的复杂系统深感兴趣。杰出的科学家会采取某种思维方式，遵循某种范式与彼此沟通。我正在研究的是，这种科学思维及交流范式如何在证据体系不断扩充的相当长的过程中，对各种对立理论进行测试筛选。这也是推动经济持续增长的各种实用知识，逐步取代迷信观念的一个必然过程。

雷蒙校长：是否还有再来中国的计划？

Paul Romer教授：我希望能很快再来中国，但你应该可以想象，我现在所有的计划都悬在半空中……

Shortly after Paul Romer learned he had been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences, Vice Chancellor Lehman had a chance to speak with and congratulate him on behalf of NYU Shanghai. Professor Romer was happy to recall his tenure in Shanghai.

Jeff Lehman: During your time in Shanghai, did you have the opportunity to learn more about China and its economic development that you were able to use in your economic writings?

Paul Romer: Definitely! Before I spent the semester at NYU Shanghai, I had published a non-technical introduction to the basics of economic growth. During my time there, I was able to fly down to Shenzhen, meet with government officials, and discuss the approach they and their predecessors had taken to reform and opening up. I ended up revising my article to include more material on how, over a 30-year period, Shenzhen had experienced the fastest GDP growth in human history.

JL: Do you have any special memories of teaching our freshman core course Global Perspectives on Society at NYU Shanghai with me?

PR: We had an amazing group of students: 150 from China and 150 from the rest of the world. Together, we all studied the works of great thinkers like Mozi, Montesquieu, Kant, Marx, Sima Qian, and Deng Xiaoping. The students fully embraced the principles for rigorous discussion of challenging issues. They tested and debated our ideas, the writers’ ideas, each other’s ideas, and their own ideas. They were open-minded, critical, and honest. They welcomed respectful disagreement, they were not afraid to change their minds, and neither were we!

JL: What were some of the things that impressed you the most about living in Shanghai?

PR: Whenever I have the chance to live in a new city, I look for innovative responses to urban challenges. One of those challenges is about cars and people: how can highways move cars quickly around the city without damaging the quality of neighborhood life? I was struck by the way that highways in Shanghai are elevated much higher above the neighborhoods than in many other cities. That approach allows much less disruption to pedestrian life on a human scale below.

JL: What kinds of economic issues are you focusing on now?

PR: Human societies use complex systems to get things done. Those complex systems enable societies to advance over long periods of time without getting stuck or slipping backwards. I am especially interested in the complex system that we call “science.” Good scientists adopt a certain mindset, and they follow certain norms of interaction with one another. I am studying how that scientific mindset and those scientific norms of interaction enable competing theories to be tested honestly, over long periods of time, against an ever-expanding body of evidence. That is how superstitious beliefs are replaced with the practically useful knowledge that underpins sustained economic growth.

JL: Do you have any plans to come back to China soon?

PR: I would really like to come back soon, but as you can probably imagine my plans are a bit up in the air right now!