Governor Talks - Philippines: What Sticky Inflation Means for Monetary Policy in Emerging Asia

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Location: Cedar Hall, HQ1-1-660

 

SPEAKER

 

   
Felipe Medalla
Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

Dr. Felipe Medalla, a noted economist and educator whose career spans more than four decades and four administrations, is the current Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Dr. Medalla has been a member of the policymaking Monetary Board since July 2011, having been appointed by former President Benigno Aquino III and President Rodrigo Duterte in July 2017.

Before joining the Monetary Board, he was a prominent figure in the academe, having taught at the University of the Philippines-School of Economics (UPSE) from 1991 to 2011. He also served as UP vice president of planning and finance from 1988-1991 before being named dean of UPSE from 1994-1998. In 1998, Dr. Medalla was appointed Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning and Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority by then-President Joseph Estrada. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and his M.A. in Economics from the University of the Philippines. A certified public accountant, he graduated cum laude from De La Salle University with an economics- accounting degree.

MODERATOR

 

   
Krishna Srinivasan
Director, Asia and Pacific Department (IMF)

Krishna Srinivasan is the Director of the Asia and Pacific Department (APD). In this capacity, he will oversee the institution’s work on all countries in the Asia-Pacific region. He was previously a Deputy Director in APD, overseeing the work on several systemically important countries, including China and Korea. Prior to that, Krishna was a Deputy Director in the Western Hemisphere Department (WHD), where he oversaw the institution’s work on several countries in the Americas, including Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and the island economies of the Caribbean, the department’s research activities, and its flagship product, Regional Economic Outlook (REO) for Latin America and the Caribbean. He is a co-editor of two recent books: Brazil—Boom, Bust and the Road to Recovery; and Unleashing Growth and Strengthening Resilience in the Caribbean. Before joining WHD, Krishna was the IMF’s mission chief for the United Kingdom and Israel, when he was a staff member of the European Department, and before that in the Research Department, where he led the IMF’s work on the G-20 in the context of the global financial crisis. In the context of this work, he and was the editor of an IMF book Global Rebalancing: A Roadmap for Economic Recovery. Krishna has been with the IMF since 1994 and has served in several departments across the institution. He secured his PhD in International Finance from Indiana University and a Master’s from the Delhi School of Economics, India, and has published several papers both at the IMF and in leading academic journals.

 

SUMMARY

 

Key Points:

  • Navigating through the challenges. The BSP’s policy actions amid the multiple, cascading shocks have helped maintain price and exchange rate stability while preserving the financial sector resilience. Well-coordinated policy actions across government agencies supported by bank regulations, international reserves, and communication strategies with main stakeholders have been key. Understanding the Fed’s policy orientations is critical as the US monetary policy remains a key factor in shaping global financial conditions.
  • Peer learning and Fund support. Policy discussions at the regional level, particularly among ASEAN economies, in addition to the Fund's technical assistance and capacity development have been instrumental in understanding the pros and cons of various policy measures and developing the right toolkit to respond to the crises.

Quotes:

It’s very important that the public knows why the central bank is doing what it’s doing. Also, people have to understand that some degree of exchange rate volatility is actually quite useful.Felipe Medalla (9:57-10:23)

Contributor: Fares Rawah

PHOTOS