National School of Development at Peking University

What National School of Development at Peking University does

The National School of Development (NSD) at Peking University is a constituent academic school founded in 1994 by Justin Lin (Lin Yifu) and five other returning scholars, operating from the Peking University campus in Beijing, China. The institution functions as an integrated platform combining academic research, policy advisory, and business education, and was designated by the Chinese government as one of the country's first 25 national high-end think tanks. Its core offerings span undergraduate and graduate economics degree programs, MBA and EMBA executive education through BiMBA, the Mulan Academy leadership program, and an ISSCAD international sustainable development track, supported by 13+ wholly-owned research centers including the China Center for Economic Research (CCER), Institute of New Structural Economics, Institute of Digital Finance, China Center for Health Development Studies, and the China Center for Energy and Development.

NSD's research output is distributed through two peer-reviewed academic journals — China Economic Quarterly and China Economic Journal (the latter co-published with Routledge/Taylor & Francis) — alongside a working paper series and the CBI business intelligence publication. The institution convenes 10+ recurring annual events, including the National Development Forum, China Economics Annual Conference, CCER-NBER Annual Conference, ICCS Annual Meeting, and the Peking University Public Policy Forum International. Its customer base is horizontally segmented across degree-seeking students, working executives enrolled in MBA/EMBA programs, domestic and international government policy clients, and developing-country leaders served through the South-South Cooperation and Development Institute. As a non-commercial academic institution embedded within Peking University, NSD does not operate under traditional revenue or ownership structures; it is sustained through Peking University's institutional budget, government research grants tied to its high-end think-tank designation, and academic program revenues.

The institution is led by Dean Yao Yang and Honorary Dean Justin Lin, with Vice-Deans Huang Yiping (also Director of the Institute of Digital Finance and a G30 invitee) and Yu Miaojie (Cheung Kong Young Academic) supporting academic operations. Strategic partnerships span NBER, Hitotsubashi University, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, the International Consortium for China Studies, Founder Securities, and Zhaopin. NSD does not offer commercial technology products, APIs, or AI/ML services, and its competitive position is anchored in regulatory designation, accumulated intellectual capital, talent density, and the platform-plus-units ecosystem architecture rather than technology differentiation.

Name

National School of Development at Peking University

Legal name

National School of Development (NSD) at Peking University

Website

https://en.nsd.pku.edu.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The National School of Development at Peking University is a Beijing-based academic institution and government-designated national high-end think tank that delivers economics degree programs, executive education, and policy research through 13+ research centers and two academic journals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education and Economic Research

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Research Universities with Comprehensive Graduate & Professional Schools (EDAHAAAF)

Keywords

• Higher education programs
• Economic research
• Policy analysis
• Executive education
• Think tank services

Headquarters

HQ city

Beijing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NSD delivers academic degree programs in economics, management, and public policy (undergraduate, graduate, MBA, EMBA, Mulan Academy), produces peer-reviewed journals and working papers, operates more than 10 specialized research centers, and hosts annual academic conferences including the National Development Forum and the CCER-NBER Annual Conference. The institution functions simultaneously as a teaching school and a national high-end think tank, generating tuition income, research output, and policy dialogue.

Product overview

The National School of Development (NSD) at Peking University is an academic institution organized as a platform-plus-units architecture. It operates as a national high-end think-tank offering undergraduate and graduate economics programs, executive education (MBA/EMBA), and multiple specialized research centers. The institution publishes three academic journals (China Economic Quarterly, China Economic Journal, CBI), a working paper series, and hosts over ten annual conferences and forums on Chinese economic development. The core offering consists of academic programs for students, research publications for scholars, and conference platforms for policy dialogue.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• China Economic Quarterly: Academic journal published by NSD covering Chinese economic research
• China Economic Journal
• BiMBA
• ISSCAD
• Mulan Academy

Products and services

• Academic Degree Programs (Undergraduate, Graduate, Double Major, MBA, EMBA, Mulan Academy, Think-tanks) Full-time and part-time academic programs in economics, management, and public policy delivered through Peking University's NSD; targets undergraduate and graduate students, working professionals pursuing MBAs and EMBAs, and women leaders enrolling in the Mulan Academy executive track.
• China Economic Quarterly Peer-reviewed academic journal published by NSD covering Chinese economic research; sponsors annual best-paper awards. Targeted at academics, policy researchers, and graduate students.
• China Economic Journal Academic journal published in partnership with Routledge/Taylor & Francis covering Chinese economic studies; targeted at international researchers in economics and policy.
• NSD Working Paper Series Series of academic working papers published by NSD faculty and researchers covering economics, finance, and policy topics; targeted at scholars and policy audiences.
• CBI (China Business Intelligence) Business intelligence research and publications from NSD; targeted at business leaders, investors, and policy professionals needing structured China-economy analysis.

Quantifiable outcome

• Established as one of China's top university think tanks since 1994

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Founder Securities Co., Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2017
• Yingjie Overseas Exchange CenterminorOthers · 18 December 2016
• National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner
• Hitotsubashi UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner
• ZhaopincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner
• International Consortium for China Studies (ICCS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner
• Frankfurt School of Finance & ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management (Tsinghua SEM): Tsinghua SEM is China's other top-tier university-based economics and management school. It competes directly with NSD for top faculty, graduate students, MBA/EMBA applicants, and policy influence in Beijing's academic ecosystem.
• Fudan University School of Economics: Fudan's economics department is one of China's strongest, competing with NSD for top economics graduate students, faculty, and academic publication output in economic research.
• Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB): CKGSB is a high-profile private business school focused on executive education for China's business and policy elite, competing with NSD's EMBA and Mulan Academy programs for senior executive students.
• Guanghua School of Management, Peking University: Guanghua is the other major business school at Peking University, competing with NSD's BiMBA for MBA/EMBA applicants within the same parent institution while having overlapping economics and management faculty.
• China Europe International Business School (CEIBS): CEIBS is a leading China-based business school offering MBA, EMBA, and executive education with strong international orientation, competing directly with NSD's BiMBA for premium executive education students.
• Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF), SJTU: SAIF is a finance-focused graduate school at Shanghai Jiao Tong University offering MF, PhD, and executive programs, competing with NSD's finance and digital finance offerings for top-tier Chinese finance students and faculty.
• PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University: PBC School of Finance is Tsinghua's finance-focused graduate school founded with People's Bank of China support, competing with NSD's Institute of Digital Finance and finance research centers for talent and policy dialogue positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC): The DRC is a central government think tank directly under the State Council, competing with NSD for senior policy advisory roles and national-level research funding in development economics.
• Institute of Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS): CASS's Institute of Economics is one of China's oldest and largest government-affiliated economics research institutions, operating as a broader incumbent in policy research that competes with NSD for government-funded research projects and policy influence.

Regional players

• Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Business School: HKUST Business School is a top Asia-based business school that competes with NSD for international students, faculty, and global rankings, particularly given Hong Kong's role as a hub for China-focused economics and finance research.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookzh-cn.facebook.com/BiMBAatPKU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1412719

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National School of Development at Peking University