Ivan PNG Paak Liang

Prof Ivan PNG Paak Liang is a Distinguished Professor of Strategy and Policy at the National University of Singapore (NUS), with courtesy appointments in Economics and Information Systems & Analytics. He has held key administrative roles including Dean of NUS Computing (2000-2001) and Vice Provost for Graduate and Undergraduate Education (2001-2003). His academic journey includes a Ph.D. from Stanford University and a B.A. in Economics from Cambridge University.

His research focuses on the economics of innovation, intellectual property law, and productivity. Notable contributions include studies on trade secrecy’s impact on innovation and the effects of patent laws. He co-authored Managerial Economics, a widely used textbook in business education. Prof Png has also served as a Nominated Member of Parliament (2005-2006), advocating for policy reforms in education and governance.

His work emphasizes balancing innovation’s societal benefits and costs, with recent publications addressing automation’s labor market impacts and childhood hardship’s influence on entrepreneurial behavior. He played a pivotal role in shaping NUS’s administrative framework, including the University Hall renaming and statute drafting.