Diana S. Kwan – författare

Social Construction of National Reality:Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong applies Peter Berger’s theory of social construction of reality to explain the origins of national identity and the process of nation building. Professor Fu-Lai Tony Yu and Diana S. Kwan examine how everyday life experiences, as a result of socialization, germinate ingroup and outgroup which differentiate nationals and foreigners. Using this theory to advance an understanding of conflicts between national groups, Yu and Kwan analyze how national consciousnesses have precipitated the Taiwan Strait Crisis, upheavals in Tibet, and Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement.

China’s Long and Winding Road to Modernization: Uncertainty, Learning, and Policy Change interprets contemporary China’s economic transformation from Austrian and evolutionary perspectives. Fu-Lai Tony Yu and Diana S. Kwan incorporate culture, institutions, government agents and entrepreneurship to understand economic change in China. In this book, the authors emphasize the roles of uncertainty, learning, and experimentation in policy making. Topics discussed range from a presentation of theoretical frameworks to understand China’s economic transformation, an account of China’s economic management during 1950-1978, the economic reformation after 1979 concurrent with Deng Xiaoping’s Open Door Policy, and China’s rise as a global power. These topics culminate in the final section of the book which suggests a path for China’s modernization.

Most works on Asian or global studies adopt mainstream Neoclassical methods to explain economic and social development. However, quantitative and optimisation techniques are unable to provide a deep understanding of policy change between the West and East Asia. To fill the gap, this book uses evolutionary perspective to interpret economic and social transformations of two global powers, namely, the United States and China. Specifically, this book outlines the roles of culture, institutions and entrepreneurship in the analysis. Instead of logical empiricism in the English tradition, our approach is interpretative and storytelling in continental European tradition. In other words, we adopt hermeneutics and phenomenology in the analysis and apply humanity to economics. There are two aims of this book. First, it outlines the evolution of Austrian evolutionary economics and second, the role of learning in the decision-making process. It focuses on how decision makers learn and how good and bad learners are differentiated.

This book examines religious, political, and economic conflicts in the Middle East. It appeals to scholars and students of Middle East studies, international relations, peace and conflicts studies, and related fields, as well as practitioners and policymakers.

This book is the product of a team-teaching course entitled, “Issues in Economic Development” offered to the final-year students of Department of Economics and Finance at Hong Kong Shue Yan University.