David Daokui Li, Director of ACCEPT and Co-President of SAGE, said on the Third Annual Conference of Government and Economics that study of government economics could help the market economy unleash its maximum potential.

        In his speech, David Daokui Li introduced the emerging field of government and economics, explaining that it is the project of a group of economic scholars from Tsinghua University and around the world who have worked to carefully construct this new branch of study over the past few years. He then demonstrated the need for this new field by showing that governments have become extremely active and important players in the modern market economy. Almost all modern government expenditures account for more than 30% of total GDP (up to 50% in many countries), and this proportion continues to increase, especially after natural disasters, epidemics, and international financial crises. Government behavior is a critical determining factor as to whether an economy will be able to develop well, run smoothly, and avoid financial crises. Furthermore, beneficial or detrimental government behavior is determined by a series of mechanisms that influence the behavior of government employees and policymakers. The driving purpose of the study of government economics is to determine what role the government should play and which government mechanisms are most suitable to help the market economy unleash its maximum potential.