REGIONAL ECONOMIC STUDIES PROGRAMME
About the Seminar
Asia remains the most dynamic part of the global economy but is facing severe headwinds from a still weak global recovery, slowing global trade, and the short-term impact of China’s growth transition. Still, the region is well positioned to meet the challenges ahead, provided it strengthens its reform efforts. To strengthen its resilience to global risks and remain a source of dynamism, policymakers in the region should push ahead with structural reforms to raise productivity and create fiscal space while supporting demand as needed.
The potential spillovers from China’s rebalancing on regional economies and financial markets are also assessed. Overall, the region has become more sensitive to the Chinese economy. While China’s rebalancing will have medium-term growth benefits, there are likely to be adverse short-term effects, though the impact will be relatively more positive for economies more exposed to China’s consumption demand. Financial spillovers from China to regional markets—in particular equity and foreign exchange markets—have risen since the global financial crisis and are stronger for those economies with stronger trade linkages.
About the Speakers
Topic: Building on Asia’s Strengths during Turbulent Times
Ranil Salgado is a currently the chief of the Regional Studies Division in the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department (APD). The division is responsible for regional surveillance, including production of the Fund’s Asia and Pacific Regional Outlook and Update, and helping develop and implement the department’s strategic priorities. He has been in the IMF for almost 20 years. In earlier years, he was the IMF mission chief to Marshall Islands and Myanmar; was the IMF Resident Representative in Singapore; and worked as part of the country teams on Australia, Canada, Dominica, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the United States. He also served in the Research Department on multilateral surveillance and the World Economic Outlook; and in the Strategy, Policy, and Review Department leading or helping lead work on trade and capital flow issues; conditionality in IMF-supported programs; and IMF policies on jobs, growth, and inclusion; along with, for a period, approving country staff papers on 20-30 IMF member countries, including several with IMF programs. Prior to joining the IMF, he worked in a strategy management consulting firm and as teaching and research assistants at the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University, and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard University, Cambridge University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Topic: Navigating the Transition: Trade and Financial Spillovers from China
Tidiane Kinda is currently economist in the Regional Studies Division of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department (APD) and also serves as Assistant to the Director of the department. He joined the IMF in 2009 and was in the African Department and the Fiscal Affairs Department before moving to APD. He worked on advanced, emerging, and low-income countries in the context of surveillance, IMF-supported programs, and technical assistance, including the Euro Area, Canada, Croatia, Peru, Moldova, Chad, and Mali. He contributed to the IMF’s key documents and publications such as the Fiscal Monitor, the Asia and Pacific Regional Economic Outlook, the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Economic Outlook, and the Vulnerability Exercise for Advanced Economies. Prior to the IMF, Tidiane worked in the World Bank’s Research Department and the Research Division of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). He (co)authored 3 books and more than 15 articles in refereed economic journals. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from CERDI-Université de Clermont in France, where he taught macroeconomics and applied econometrics.
Registration
For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents3@iseas.edu.sg by 5 May 2016.
REGIONAL ECONOMIC STUDIES PROGRAMME
About the Seminar
As the global and Asian economy adjusts to the “new normal” of a slowing Peoples Republic of China, regional cooperation and integration involving South Asia and Southeast Asia can play an influential role in fostering Asia’s development. In late 2015 ASEAN announced the launch of the ASEAN Community and ASEAN’s Vision beyond 2015 creating a potential market of more than 600 million people. Myanmar has recently opened up through political reforms. South Asia and Southeast Asia contain some of the world’s fastest growing economies. in 2014-2015 Prime Minister Modi’s government unleashed new economic reforms and an Act East Policy. A Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – involving India and East Asian economies – is under negotiation. These two critical Asian sub-regions are on the right pathway but many challenges remain towards greater regional cooperation and integration. Trade and investment integration between the two sub-regions is relatively limited and is hampered by problems in infrastructure, infrastructure finance, residual barriers to trade and FDI and institutions. Many strategic and political barriers and risks also prevail in South Asia as well as Southeast Asia.
This seminar explores the potential for South Asia-Southeast Asia regional integration in the new economic environment with a focus on regional connectivity, associated policies and institutions and political economy issues. It presents the findings of a 2016 book Connecting Asia: Infrastructure for Integrating South Asia and Southeast Asiaedited by Michael Plummer, Peter Morgan and Ganeshan Wignaraja. The book contains an important contribution on implementation challenges and coordination arrangements by Moe Thuzar and Francis Hutchinson and their co-authors.
About the Speakers
Ganeshan Wignaraja, Advisor, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, Asian Development Bank
Mike Plummer (via videolink), Director SAIS Europe and Eni Professor of International Economics, SAIS Johns Hopkins University
Moe Thuzar, Lead Researcher, Socio Cultural Affairs, Lead Researcher, Economic Affairs, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
Registration
For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents3@iseas.edu.sg by 6 May 2016.
MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME & REGIONAL ECONOMIC STUDIES
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
Malaysia’s ambition to become a developed nation by the year 2020 was first articulated in 1991. The “Vision 2020” goal has explicitly and implicitly influenced medium and long-term development planning in Malaysia for the past 25 years. As the year 2020 approaches, the Malaysian economy has grown at a pace below the annual growth target of six percent set in the Tenth Malaysia Plan (2011-2015). This has been partly due to the adverse global economic conditions in recent years. Thus, the goal of achieving robust economic sufficient to achieve developed nation status will remain a significant challenge for Malaysian policymakers.
ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
Please click here.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
This conference brings together prominent economists working on various aspects of the Malaysian economy with the goal of examining and assessing the extent to which the government’s current economic policies are able to address the challenges of achieving a developed country status by the year 2020.
REGISTRATION
Attendance to the conference is free of charge but registration is required by 18 March 2016. To register, please fill up this form as linked. As seats are limited, please register early. Admission to the conference can only be taken as confirmed upon receiving the written acceptance from ISEAS. For any queries, please feel free to e-mail <iseasevents3@iseas.edu.sg>.
REGIONAL ECONOMIC STUDIES PROGRAMME
Jointly organized with the World Bank
ABOUT THE LAUNCH
The East Asia and Pacific Economic Update is the World Bank’s comprehensive review of the region’s economies. It is published twice yearly and the latest Update will be released on Monday, October 5, in Singapore.
This report outlines the region’s growth prospects and policy challenges, both in the short and medium term, against the possibility of the U.S. raising interest rates and economic rebalancing in China. Looking across East Asia as a whole, the report highlights key issues for the region that may impact its growth prospects. With regard to Southeast Asia, these include tax incentives and food policy. World Bank East Asia and Pacific Chief Economist Sudhir Shetty will discuss these and other trends, based on the latest data and analysis, at a seminar hosted by the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sudhir Shetty is currently Chief Economist of the East Asia and Pacific Region of the World Bank. Until June 2014, he was the Director of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) in the East Asia and Pacific Region. Prior to that, he was Co-Director of the team that prepared the World Bank’s 2012 World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development. Mr. Shetty previously headed the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management department in the Africa Region of the World Bank, and managed the Bank’s central Poverty Reduction group.
Dr Shetty has a Ph.D. in Economics from Cornell University and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
REGISTRATION
For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents3@iseas.edu.sg by 2 October 2015.
ASEAN STUDIES CENTRE &
REGIONAL ECONOMIC STUDIES PROGRAMME SEMINAR
ABOUT THE SEMINAR
In another three months, the ten Southeast Asian economies are going to announce the establishment of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The AEC aims to be an integrated market and production base with free movement of goods, services, freer flow of capital, and skilled labour. However, member economies are still a long way from achieving an integrated production space as they have not yet fulfilled all the stipulated targets stated in the AEC Blueprint. A possible explanation for the current state of economic integration is the presence of conflicting domestic economic interests in member countries. There are different dynamics in the ten domestic economies. This seminar, using illustrations from six selected ASEAN economies, describes the type and nature of conflicts in domestic economies. The seminar will provide policy recommendations for AEC beyond 2015.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Tham Siew Yean is a Professor in International Trade and Deputy Director at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Her research and publications focus on trade, ASEAN, foreign direct investment, manufacturing and services developments. She is also a consultant for international agencies, such as World Bank, World Bank Institute, Asian Development Bank, Asian Development Bank Institute and Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). Her most recent publication includes co-editing with Sanchita Basu, a special issue of Journal of Southeast Asian Economies (JSEAS), on “Managing Domestic Consensus For ASEAN Economic Community Beyond 2015”, August, 2015.
Sanchita Basu Das is a Fellow and Lead Researcher (Economics) at the ASEAN Studies Centre and the Coordinator of the Singapore APEC Study Centre, both based in the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore. She is also a co-editor of the Journal of Southeast Asian Economies. Prior to joining the Institute in 2005, she has worked in the private sector as an economist in India and Singapore. Sanchita is the author/editor of several books, special editor of three journal issues and author of numerous book chapters and policy papers. Sanchita’s research interests include – Economic Integration in ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific Region; Regionalism and Economic Development; Macro-economic Issues in Southeast Asia.
ABOUT THE DISCUSSANT
Ponciano Intal, Jr. is a Senior Economist at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Dr Intal has been the lead coordinator of a number of ASEAN projects in ERIA, including ASEAN RISING: ASEAN and AEC beyond 2015; the Mid-Term Review of the Implementation of the AEC Blueprint; and the AEC Scorecard monitoring project. Prior to joining ERIA in July 2009, Dr Intal was a Full Professor at the Economics Department and a University Fellow of De La Salle University- Manila. Concurrently, he served as the Executive Director of the DLSU-Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI). He also served as President of Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) from 1991 to 1998 and as Deputy Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) of the Philippine government from 1988 to 1991. Dr Intal’s research interest includes Philippine and international economic issues of trade, environment, development cooperation, and regional integration.
REGISTRATION
To register, please complete this reply form and return it by fax: 6775-6264 or email: ascevents@iseas.edu.sg by 23 September 2015.
SINGAPORE APEC STUDY CENTRE AND
REGIONAL ECONOMIC STUDIES PROGRAMME SEMINAR
ABOUT THE SEMINAR
Chile has an open and externally-oriented economy. It has long advocated regionalism in the Asia-Pacific and its diplomatic relations with Asia date back to the 18th century. Chile joined the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council in 1991 and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in 1994. Along with Singapore, Chile was one of the P-4 – the original core of countries promoting an Asia-Pacific free trade agreement. This initiative has since evolved into the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an ambitious and high-quality free trade initiative. In 2011, along with Mexico, Peru, and Colombia, Chile founded the Pacific Alliance – which has the goals of promoting regional integration among member countries and strengthening ties with the Asia-Pacific. Today, the Alliance has 34 observer countries, including Singapore.
This talk will first analyze the history of the TPP and the Pacific Alliance from a Chilean perspective. From there, it will address the challenges these two initiatives face in promoting regionalism and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Manfred Wilhelmy, born in Germany in 1945, is a citizen of Chile. He graduated in Law from Catholic University of Valparaiso (1968) and was admitted to the bar in 1969. In 1971 and 1973 he was awarded M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Politics (Princeton University), where he specialized in the field of international relations.
He is a faculty member of the Institute of International Studies, University of Chile. He has also taught at Princeton University and at SAIS, the Johns Hopkins University. Since 2007 to 2014 he was director of the Journal Estudios Internacionales. Since 1990 he has worked on East Asian international relations. In 1994 he was appointed Executive Director of the Chile Pacific Foundation, a private organization established to promote Chile’s links with the Pacific Basin economies. He chairs the Chilean Committee on Pacific Economic Cooperation (CHILPEC), and from 2004 through 2006 he was Alternate Member of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).
His major publications are in the areas of Chilean foreign policy and international relations in the Latin America region and Asia-Pacific. He is a member of Chile Transparente (Chilean chapter of Transparency International).
REGISTRATION
To register, please complete the reply form and email to iseasevents3@iseas.edu.sg.