From September 12 to 16, 2024, Professor Qiao Xiaonan and his master student Qu Wangcheng of our School were invited to Rikkyo University in Japan to attend the International Sessions of the 72nd Annual Conference of the Japan Society of Political Economy (JSPE). The theme of the conference was “How Platform Capitalism is Transforming the Modern World”.

Two papers by Prof. Qiao and his research team were submitted for this conference. They were Land Rent Theory and Research on Rent of Digital Platform Enterprises authored by Qiao Xiaonan and Feng Tianyi, and Data Ownership, Data Sharing and Data Transactions by Qiao Xiaonan, Feng Tianyi, and Qu Wangcheng.

Prof. Qiao and master student Qu Wangcheng presented their papers and comments on-site at the conference and engaged in an in-depth discussion with scholars of Marxian political economy from institutions such as Colorado State University in the United States, Tohoku University in Japan, and Keio University in Japan. Doctoral student Feng Tianyi was unable to attend the conference due to illness, but he presented the research through a pre-recorded video with doctoral student Li Xin.

Prof. Qiao gave a systematical comment and discussion on the paper A Study on Impacts of Platform Capitalization on Capital Accumulation by Tazoe Atsushi, Associate Professor at Tsu City College in Japan, under the title Platform Capitalism and the Mathematical Model of Marxian Political Economy. He highlighted the paper's emphasis on how platform capitalism enhances the potential for individual capital accumulation in the sharing economy and its contribution to the development of Marxist optimal growth theory, which he deemed to have significant academic value. Regarding the development of platform capitalism, he noted that numerous empirical studies indicate the income gap between labor and capital within the capitalist system is still widening in the digital economy era. Platform capitalism, he noted, may enhance the accumulation advantages of capital owners and their control over workers. He advocated the construction of mathematical models in the Marxist political economy should keep pace with the new trends of the digital economy and should incorporate AI, digital production factors, and platform enterprises into theoretical models. Additionally, he called for an in-depth study of the behavior and impact of platform businesses by drawing on Marx's land rent theory including differential and absolute rents.

Doctoral students Feng Tianyi and Li Xin presented a paper entitled Land Rent Theory and Research on Rent of Digital Platform Enterprises at the online session. The paper utilized Marxist land rent theory and the mathematical model of political economy to explore the sources and impacts of digital platform enterprises' earnings. It also provided policy recommendations for supporting and guiding the healthy development of these platform enterprises. Tazoe Atsushi, an Associate Professor at Tsu City College, provided an insightful review of the paper, praising its profound practical implications and offering suggestions on the direction for future research. Hiroshi Onishi, an Honorary Professor at Keio University in Japan, engaged in an in-depth discussion with attendees regarding the classification of production and non-production sectors in the paper.

Master student Qu Wangcheng presented a paper entitled Data Ownership, Data Sharing and Data Transactions. The paper constructed a two-sided market model based on Marxist political economy and discussed the impact of data sharing and transactions on platform profits and social reproduction under various data rights confirmation models. Kanae Ryo, an Associate Professor at Momoyama Gakuin University in Japan, noted that this paper proves Marx’s economic theories are still valid and applicable in the digital economy era. Hiroshi Onishi, an Honorary Professor at Keio University, and Daniele Tavani, a Professor at Colorado State University in the United States, also had a lively discussion with attendees.

This annual conference was hosted by the JSPE and organized by Rikkyo University. JSPE is Japan’s largest society of Marxian political economy with prominent international influence. In addition to esteemed scholars from Japan, internationally recognized scholars attended the conference and presented papers, including John Roemer, Emeritus Professor at the Department of Political Science and the Department of Economics, Yale University, Naoki Yoshihara, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, and Daniele Tavani, Professor at Colorado State University in the United States. This event had over ten sub-forums covering various important theoretical and practical research fields. During the conference, Prof. Qiao and his team introduced the development of China’s political economy to the international academic community and specified plans for deeper joint research projects, visits, and exchanges in the future.