Draft:Anthony Matthew Tang

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Anthony Matthew Tang
File:Dr. Anthony M. Tang, official portrait.png Tang in an official portrait
Born	(1924-05-06) May 6, 1924 Shanghai, China
Other names	Tang Tsong Ming (唐宗明)
Alma mater	Loyola University New Orleans (B.B.A.); Vanderbilt University (Ph.D.)
Occupations	Economist, professor
Employer	Vanderbilt University
Spouse(s)	Ellinor Jane Pentecost (m. 1946; d. 1987); Betty J. McBee (m. 1997)
Children	6

Anthony Matthew Tang (born May 6, 1924; Chinese: 唐宗明; pinyin: Táng Zōngmíng) is a Chinese-born American economist whose academic career was primarily associated with Vanderbilt University. His research addressed economic development and agricultural economics, including empirical studies of agriculture and rural income in mainland China. His scholarly publications were reviewed in major academic journals, including The China Quarterly and the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

Early life and education

Tang was born in Shanghai, China, under the name Tang Tsong Ming (唐宗明). A 1952 entry in the Congressional Record lists him as “Tang, Tsong Ming, alias Anthony M. Tang.” He emigrated to the United States in 1945 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1953.

Tang earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Loyola University New Orleans in 1949 and completed a Ph.D. in economics at Vanderbilt University in 1955.

World War II service

File:Anthony M. Tang (WWII) and Jane Pentecost, 1945.jpg

Tang in Biloxi, Mississippi, 1945.

Tang served as a Chinese-language interpreter during World War II. Published sources describe a group of Chinese military personnel trained in the United States during the war, later referred to as the “FAB-100.”

Academic career

Tang joined the faculty of Vanderbilt University in 1955, where he taught economics for several decades. Contemporary academic listings and professional notices identify him as a professor of economics at Vanderbilt University through at least the mid-1980s.

During his tenure, Tang held administrative appointments associated with the Graduate Program in Economic Development and the Department of Economics. The Graduate Program in Economic Development operated within Vanderbilt’s economics department during this period and later evolved into what is now the MA in Economics program.

Professional “News Notes” published in scholarly journals reported that Tang took a leave of absence from Vanderbilt University during the 1960s while remaining affiliated with the institution.

Tang also held visiting academic appointments at other institutions in the United States and Asia. Later journal author profiles continued to list him as Professor of Economics Emeritus at Vanderbilt University.

In addition to his teaching and administrative work, Tang participated in professional economics conferences. Official programs of the Allied Social Science Associations, published by the American Economic Association, list him as presenting research on agricultural production in China.

Research and publications

Tang’s research addressed economic development and agricultural economics, with particular emphasis on agriculture, consumption, and household income in mainland China during the post-1950 period. His work appeared in peer-reviewed journals including Economic Development and Cultural Change, World Development, The China Quarterly, and the Philippine Review of Economics.

A book-length study of agriculture in mainland China was reviewed in The China Quarterly, published by Cambridge University Press, and his earlier monograph on regional economic development in the United States was reviewed in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

Selected works

Books

• Economic Development in the Southern Piedmont, 1860–1950 (1958)
• An Analytical and Empirical Investigation of Agriculture in Mainland China, 1952–1980 (1984)

Journal articles

• Tang, Anthony M. “China's Agricultural Legacy.” Economic Development and Cultural Change (1979).
• Tang, Anthony M. “China as a Factor in the World Food Situation.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics (1982).
• Tang, Anthony M. “Growth and Structure of Farm Household Income in China.” The China Quarterly (1983).
• Tang, Anthony M. “The Demand for Agricultural Products in China.” Philippine Review of Economics (1979).