Alfred M. Wu is an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He is a development studies expert with publications in the fields of public finance, education, social protection, urban development and local governance in China and East Asia. Dr Wu has published in journals such as World Development, Public Choice, International Tax and Public Finance, Journal of Urban Affairs, Journal of Education and Work, and others. He has been engaged in funded research projects with support from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong and the Central Policy Unit of the Hong Kong SAR Government. John N. Hawkins is a professor emeritus at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, and co-director of the APHERP East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dr Hawkins is a specialist on higher education reform in the United States and Asia, and the author of several books and research articles on education and development in Asia. He was the dean of International Studies at UCLA for 13 years and has served as a director of the UCLA Foundation Board and director of the East-West Center Foundation Board.