Nankai Institute of Economics (Chinese: 南开大学经济研究所, abbreviated NKIE), founded in 1927 by and Zhang Boling, was originally named Nankai Committee of Sociology and Economics. It changed its name into Nankai Institute of Economics in 1931, and then established the tenet of the institute, which is to "know China and serve China". The systematic social research that the institute has conducted was ahead of its time in China. The , compiled in 1927, was the very first price index in China and the most important reference to the study of Chinese economy during that time, indicating that it was rather influential and of high academic value. The institute was then regarded as the authority of Chinese economic studies during the period of Republic of China (1912–1949).