The Asian Law and Economics Association (AsLEA) successfully held its 2025 Annual Conference on 13–15 August 2025 at the City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK). Organized in partnership with the CityUHK School of Law and the Centre for Chinese and Comparative Law (CCCL), the Conference reaffirmed AsLEA’s role as the premier platform in Asia for advancing interdisciplinary dialogue at the intersection of law and economics.
Global Gathering of Scholars
Since its founding in 1995, AsLEA has been committed to advancing the study and application of law and economics in Asia. The 2025 Annual Conference marked yet another milestone, drawing over 120 scholars from leading universities and research institutions across more than 20 jurisdictions. Over three days, participants engaged with cutting-edge issues at the intersection of law and economics, with particular attention to challenges facing Asia and beyond.
Pre-Conference Workshops
The Conference was kicked off with two pre-conference workshops designed to foster methodological reflection and editorial dialogue among younger and senior scholars.
The first workshop, Methodology Workshop, was led by Prof. Jennifer H. Arlen, Norma Z. Paige Professor of Law, New York University and moderated by Prof. John Zhuang Liu, Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong. Prof. Arlen introduced research methods in experimental economics, focusing on how to maintain internal consistency and external validity.
Prof. Jennifer H. ARLEN
Prof. John Zhuang LIU
The second workshop, Editors’ Workshop, featured Prof. Adriana Z. Robertson, Donald N. Pritzker Professor of Business Law, University of Chicago Law School and Editor of Journal of Legal Studies, Prof. Yun-chien Chang, Jack G. Clarke Professor in East Asian Law, Cornell Law School and Editor of Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, and Prof. Wenming Xu, Professor, China University of Political Science and Law and Editor of International Review of Law & Economics, moderated by Prof. Lauren Yu-Hsin Lin, President of AsLEA. This dialogue offered candid insights into the publication process and highlighted the increasing global reach of Asian scholarship in leading international journals.
Prof. Adriana Z. ROBERTSON
Prof. Yun-chien CHANG
Prof. Wenming XU
Prof. Lauren Yu-Hsin LIN
Keynote Speech
A highlight of the Conference was our keynote speeches, delivered by Prof. Adriana Z. Robertson and Prof. Yun-chien Chang on August 14 and 15, respectively.
In her keynote speech titled “Empirical Corporate Law: Challenges and Opportunities”, Prof. Robertson observed that recent replication studies have overturned once-canonical findings and posed a significant challenge to the field of empirical corporate law research. Yet, this challenge also presents new opportunities for researchers to explore new directions through empirical data. Meanwhile, Prof. Chang discussed two major concepts, collegiality among, and familiarity between judges in his keynote speech, “Familiarity and Collegiality: The Law and Economics of Judicial Behavior”. By examining millions of court judgments and promotion data, his research on the determinants of judicial decision-making extends the economic theories of judicial behaviour.
AsLEA Best Paper Award for Junior Scholars
Another key moment of the Conference was the presentation of the AsLEA Best Paper Award for Junior Scholars, established to recognize outstanding emerging scholarship. Out of 67 submissions, two outstanding contributions were honored.
Prof. Kenneth Khoo from the National University of Singapore and Prof. Roberto Tallarita from Harvard Law School, won for their co-authored paper titled “Expanding Shareholder Voice: The Impact of SEC Guidance on Environmental and Social Proposals”. They used machine learning to study how environmental and social proposals affect shareholder support, providing key insights for corporate governance.
Mr. Huabing Li, PhD candidate at the University of Hamburg, the University of Bologna, and Erasmus University Rotterdam, for “Utilitarian Proportionality: Empirical Evidence from Crimes of Embezzlement and Bribery in China.” His work offers a fresh perspective on criminal policy reform through empirical study of proportionality within the utilitarian framework.
The recognition of these papers reflects AsLEA’s longstanding mission to nurture empirical and theoretical innovation by younger scholars, ensuring the vibrancy of the field for decades to come.
Panel Sessions and Discussions
The Conference featured 25 concurrent panels, covering a wide spectrum of themes such as judicial behavior, intellectual property, family and labor law, state power and corporate ownership, securities enforcement, and the regulation of data, privacy, and innovation and etc., demonstrating deep integration of theory and empirics and fostering two-way interaction between scholarship and practice.
Leadership and Community
The success of the 2025 Annual Conference was made possible by the leadership of Prof. Lauren Yu-Hsin Lin, President of AsLEA, together with Prof. James Si Zeng, Prof. Virginia Harper Ho, and Prof. Martin Sin Chit Lai, supported by the dedication of CityUHK’s School of Law faculty and staff. At the opening, participants were also warmly welcomed by Prof. Lin Feng, Dean and Chair Professor of Basic Law, CityUHK School of Law, and Prof. Jiangyu Wang, Director of Centre for Chinese and Comparative Law (CCCL).
Prof. LIN Feng, Dean and Chair Professor of Basic Law, School of Law (left) and Prof. Jiangyu WANG, Director of CCCL (right) delivered welcoming remarks
Looking Forward
The AsLEA 2025 Annual Conference not only celebrated scholarly excellence but also reaffirmed AsLEA’s role as a hub for cross-regional dialogue and intellectual exchange. By connecting leading and emerging scholars across disciplines, AsLEA continues to strengthen the foundations of law and economics in Asia.
We are pleased to announce that the AsLEA 2026 Annual Conference will be hosted by Singapore Management University (SMU). We warmly invite colleagues around the world to join us next year in Singapore and continue building the vibrant law and economics community.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all participants, organizers, and supporters for making the Conference a resounding success.