Tiger Mother’s Child-Rearing Method Draws Response

Letter to the Wall Street Journal (January 14, 2011) Although the way Ms. Chua raised her children may be typical of many high-achieving Chinese families, there are many Chinese families who live quite the opposite life.  According to recent Census data, the majority of Chinese people grow up in low-income households, and within this group children typically do not play musical instruments or devote many hours to homework. I grew up in a very poor Chinese family in which none of my siblings completed post-secondary schooling.  I was arrested twice as a teenager and dropped out of high school before eventually finishing at age 20.  However, I did go on to earn a doctorate. Because the "superior Chinese mother" stereotype is so ingrained into society, few outreach programs target at-risk Chinese youths.  Some of my childhood Chinese friends are now in jail or are drug addicts because people in authority always thought our households resembled Ms. Chua's. Kai L. Chan New York Letter as it appeared in the WSJ Copyright ©2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Emerging Markets Summit 2011: BRIC & Beyond

[caption id="attachment_1654" align="aligncenter" width="535"] Economist Kai L. Chan speaks at the Emerging Markets Summit 2011:  BRIC and Beyond in New York, USA, on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011.  The conference, sponsored by iGlobal Forum, explores opportunities for institutional investors in the emerging markets -- including the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China as well as new markets such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Africa, and Chile.  Photographer:  Ramin Talaie/Bloomberg via Getty Images[/caption] I spoke on a panel ("economic outlook for investing in emerging markets") with David Beker from BAML  on 19 January 2011.  Topics covered included: Performance analysis of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and the Barclays Emerging Markets Index Macroeconomic outlook: A broader investment opportunity set in frontier markets? Identifying strong potential returns and less correlation with US or EU performance What is the economic growth potential in real terms projected for the next 5 years? How are economic relations with the developed world and the BRIC nations? Examples of where the credit crisis has had an impact with non BRIC emerging markets    

Tiger moms

Letter to the Globe & Mail (January 12, 2011) Amy Chua’s book highlights one segment of Chinese parenting in the West to the detriment of another swath of the community.  According to recent census data, the majority of Chinese-Canadians grow up in low-income households, and within this group children typically do not play musical instruments or devote many hours to homework. Many Chinese-Canadian youths from low-income backgrounds face problems of underachievement and criminality.  I grew up in a very poor Chinese family where none of my siblings completed post secondary schooling.  I was arrested twice as a teenager and dropped out of high school before eventually finishing at age 20.  However, I did go on to get degrees from the University of Toronto and Princeton, where I faced a cultural shock when meeting Chinese students there who conformed to Ms. Chua’s background. Because the Chinese tiger mom stereotype is so ingrained, few, if any, outreach programs target at-risk Chinese youths.  Some of my childhood Chinese friends are now in jail or drug addicts because people in authority always thought our households resembled Ms. Chua’s. Kai L. Chan, New York The Globe and Mail © Copyright 2011 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc.  All…

Letter to U of T Magazine (re: Less Starin’, More Sharin’)

U of T Magazine, Autumn 2010 I read Andrew Murphy’s column and recalled the days when I was an undergraduate at U of T.  Looking back, I wish I made more lasting connections when I had the chance.  Somebody once told me (after I graduated) that the most important thing that you pick up at university is your friends — you will lean on them for the rest of your life.  So Murphy is spot on when he says students need to be more confident to meet new faces and make the university experience fun. Since graduating I’ve picked up a talent for befriending new people. Some of this confidence comes with age, but a lot can be fostered by the university.  I know this because I served as an assistant master (akin to an assistant dean) at Princeton when I was a graduate student.  At Princeton I was surprised by how many students would stop me and thank me because I had once joined them for a meal when they were alone in the cafeteria, or said hi to them on campus. These were simple gestures, yet they meant so much because everybody comes into university nervous and yearning for…

Slides presented at 9th Annual Canada Cup of Investment Management

Slides presented by me at the 9th Annual Canada Cup of Investment held in Toronto on June 18, 2010.  This was part of the Investing in BRICs and emerging markets panel moderated by David Walker (West-Can Consultant, Ltd).  Along with Richard Kang (Emerging Global Advisors, LLC), we spoke of the risks and returns of adding emerging markets exposure to institutional portfolios. [caption id="attachment_618" align="alignleft" width="260"] 10 year history of global bourses - normalised[/caption] [caption id="attachment_619" align="alignleft" width="260"] Global equity adjusted volatility[/caption] [caption id="attachment_620" align="alignleft" width="260"] Global equity values in 2010 vs 2000[/caption] [caption id="attachment_621" align="alignleft" width="260"] Correlations of equity markets vis-a-vis TSX[/caption]