Events

The NUGSB-HKUST Forum on Global Transformation of Value Creation

The Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Business and HKUST Business School will host the NUGSB–HKUST Forum on Global Transformation of Value Creation from 27 to 29 August 2026. The program opens on 27 August with the Workshop on International Business and Economic Policy, followed on 28–29 August by the inaugural Silk Road Empirical Trade Conference.

Economists specializing in empirical economic research on issues relating to international trade and investment will present their latest research at this meeting.

The workshop on 27 August is open to all. Limited seats available. Registration is required.
The conference (August 28-29) is by invitation only.
Thursday, August 27 — Workshop on International Business and Economic Policy
Limited seats available. Registration is required.
Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Business · 53 Kabanbay Batyr Ave, Block C3, Room 1010 (ground floor)
1:30 – 1:50 pm Registration
1:50 – 2:00 pm Welcome and Opening Remarks
David Cook (HKUST) and Venkat Subramanian (NUGSB)
Session 1
Chair: Venkat Subramanian, Nazarbayev University
2:00 – 2:30 pm When Ideas become Abundant: Generative AI and the Shifting Locus of Creative Value in Organizations
Muhammad Zeeshan Mirza, New Uzbekistan University
2:30 – 3:00 pm Leverage and Corporate Cash Holdings: The Contingent Role of Culture and Formal Institutions
Ali Alipour, KIMEP
3:00 – 3:30 pm Coffee break, snacks and beverages (Block C3 vestibule near 1010)
Session 2
Chair: David Cook, HKUST
3:30 – 4:00 pm Exchange Rate Pass-through in Vertical Markets with Price Regulation
Akbobek Akhmedyarova, NAC Analytica
4:00 – 4:30 pm Decoupling, Quality Upgrading, and Geoeconomic Chokepoints
Aigerim Yergabulova, Nazarbayev University
4:30 – 5:00 pm Coffee break, snacks and beverages (Block C3 vestibule near 1010)
Panel Discussion
Artificial Intelligence, the Belt and Road Initiative, and Economic Transformation in Central Asia
5:00 – 5:15 pm Introductory Remarks
David Cook (HKUST) and NU Leadership
5:15 – 6:30 pm Panel Discussion
Moderated by Joep Konings (NUGSB). Panelists: Atakan Varol (Dean, NU School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence); Birzhan Batkeyev (Chairman, Economic Research Institute); Valerie Smeets (Aarhus University). Additional panelists to be confirmed.
Registration for the Workshop on International Business and Economic Policy (August 27th)



Friday, August 28 — Silk Road Empirical Trade Conference (Day 1)
Attendance is by invitation only.
53 Kabanbay Batyr Ave, Block C3, Room 3015 (3rd floor) · freit.org/SRET
9:00 – 9:20 am Registration
9:20 – 9:30 am Welcome and Opening Remarks
Joep Konings, David Cook, and Tibor Besedeš
Session 1
Chair: David Cook, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
9:30 – 10:30 am Data Sovereignty: Firms, Accountability, and the Challenge of International Governance
Martina Ferracane, European University Institute / LUMSA
Discussant: Andrey Tkachenko, Nazarbayev University
10:30 – 10:45 am Break, snacks and beverages (Block C3, Room 3014)
10:45 – 11:45 am The Extraterritoriality of Smart Sanctions
Clément Montes, CREST, Institut Polytechnique de Paris
Discussant: Tibor Besedeš, Georgia Tech and FREIT
11:45 – 12:00 pm Break, snacks and beverages (Block C3, Room 3014)
12:00 – 1:00 pm Language Affinity, Russian Media and Sanctions Evasion
Andrey Tkachenko, Nazarbayev University
Discussant: Farid Toubal, CREST, Institut Polytechnique de Paris
1:00 – 2:00 pm Lunch (Block C3, Room 3017)
Session 2
Chair: Joep Konings, Nazarbayev University
2:00 – 3:00 pm Tracing Sanctions through the Value Chain: Evidence from the US Cotton Ban
Jo Van Biesebroek, KU Leuven
Discussant: Pavel Chakraborty, University of Bath
3:00 – 3:15 pm Break, snacks and beverages (Block C3, Room 3014)
3:15 – 4:15 pm The Mechanics of Growing and Maintaining a Supplier Base: Evidence from Chinese Firms
Tengyu Zhao, Fudan University
Discussant: Edouard Schaal, CREI
4:15 – 4:30 pm Break, beverages (Block C3, Room 3014)
4:30 – 5:30 pm Chinese Industrial Policy and International Spillovers: Evidence from 70,000 Policy Documents
Paul-Emile Bernard, University Paris Dauphine
Discussant: Jo Van Biesebroek, KU Leuven
6:30 pm Conference Dinner
Line Brew Expo, Mangilik El 55
Saturday, August 29 — Silk Road Empirical Trade Conference (Day 2)
Attendance is by invitation only.
53 Kabanbay Batyr Ave, Block C3, Room 3015 (3rd floor) · freit.org/SRET
Session 3
Chair: Valerie Smeets, Aarhus University
9:30 – 10:30 am From foreign demand to domestic production: A multi-country framework
Dorothee Hillrichs, ifo Institute & LMU Munich
Discussant: Paul-Emile Bernard, University Paris Dauphine
10:30 – 10:45 am Break, snacks and beverages (Block C3, Room 3014)
10:45 – 11:45 am More Trade, Less Diffusion: Technology Transfers and the Dynamic Effects of Import Liberalization
Gustavo de Souza, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Discussant: Tengyu Zhao, Fudan University
11:45 – 12:00 pm Break, snacks and beverages (Block C3, Room 3014)
12:00 – 1:00 pm Keynote
Wolfgang Keller, HKUST and University of Colorado
1:00 – 2:00 pm Lunch (Block C3, Room 3017)
Session 4
Chair: David DeRemer, Nazarbayev University
2:00 – 3:00 pm Strategic Trade Infrastructure: Understanding China's Belt and Road Initiative
Edouard Schaal, CREI
Discussant: Gustavo de Souza, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
3:00 – 3:15 pm Break, snacks and beverages (Block C3, Room 3014)
3:15 – 4:15 pm When a Protectionist Trade Policy turns into an Industrial Policy: Evidence from India
Pavel Chakraborty, University of Bath
Discussant: Martina Ferracane, European University Institute / LUMSA
4:15 – 4:30 pm Break, beverages (Block C3, Room 3014)
4:30 – 5:30 pm The Price We Pay: The Short-Run Welfare Cost of Trade Disruptions
Tibor Besedeš, Georgia Tech and FREIT
Discussant: Aigerim Yergabulova, Nazarbayev University
2026-08-06 10:50 Upcoming events