Steven N. S. Cheung Economist Date of Birth: 01.12.1935 Country: USA

1. Biography of Steven Chung
2. Early Life and Education
3. Career and Contributions
4. Legal Troubles and Current Work

Biography of Steven Chung

Steven Ng-Sheong Cheung, an economist of Hong Kong origin, specializes in transaction costs and property rights. He is the author of several books and numerous journal articles. He gained recognition for his work on private property rights and transaction costs, and achieved true fame through his economic analysis of China's "open door" policy in the 1980s.

Early Life and Education

Steven Chung was born on December 1, 1935, in Hong Kong. In 1941, his family fled to China. He completed his secondary education at Wa Ying College and then studied at Queen's College in Hong Kong.

From 1959 to 1967, Chung studied economics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he was mentored by American economist Armen Alchian. He defended his doctoral dissertation and received a degree in economics.

Career and Contributions

From 1967 to 1969, Dr. Chung conducted research at the University of Chicago, focusing on the analysis of lease theory and the variable distribution of rural land resources.

From 1969 to 1982, he taught at the University of Washington's School of Economics. Then, from 1982 to 2000, he served as the head of the School of Economics and Finance at Hong Kong University. During this period, Dr. Chung reformed the economics curriculum in Hong Kong, adding the study of conditional maximization, methodology, transaction costs, and property rights. Many of these concepts belong to the theories of the Chicago school of economics.

Legal Troubles and Current Work

In 2003, the US authorities issued an arrest warrant for Steven Chung on charges of tax evasion and criminal conspiracy. It is alleged that he sold counterfeit antiques through his store, Thesaurus Fine Arts. Similar charges were also brought against his wife, Linda Su Cheung. Following these accusations, Chung left Hong Kong and fled to mainland China, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. He continues his research and writing in China.