March 5th 2024

The 32nd IIMA International Financial Symposium
"Adjusting to Structural Shifts –Where is Global Economy Heading?"

The global economy continues to face multi-faceted structural shifts and challenges. Inflation have generally eased but remain above the central banks' target coupled with uncertainty brought by ongoing geopolitical conflicts and signs of global fragmentation. While rapid monetary tightening by central banks were necessary reaction to bring inflation under control, whether the global economy can avoid recession or not is still uncertain. Government debt is at a historically high level and requires normalization strategy in the medium to long term. Pursuing global dialogue and cooperation on global challenges has never been more necessary for the global economy to avoid unexpected future outcomes. Those challenges include energy and food shortages, climate change, and heightened political tensions leading to deglobalization. We invited prominent experts from Japan and abroad to discussed various economic policy issues.
 

Date and Time

March 5th, 2024 (Tuesday),
14:00 - 16:00 (JST), 13:00 - 15:00 (SGT), 6:00 - 8:00 (CET),
0:00 - 2:00 (US ET), 21:00 - 23:00 (US PT)

Progress Lecture and Panel Discussion
Language

English (Simultaneous translation to Japanese)

Video Click here

Panelists (in alphabetical order)

Jon Cunliffe
Former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England

  

Jon Cunliffe is a former central bank and government official. From 2013 to 2023 he served as Deputy Governor at the Bank of England with responsibility for financial stability, financial market infrastructure and payment systems, and digital currencies. Prior to his role at the Bank, he served as UK Ambassador to the EU, advisor to the UK Prime Minister on European and international economic issues, and as Second Permanent Secretary at the UK Treasury. He has also served in various international roles, including as the UK Sherpa, Bank of England's deputy, UK Treasury's deputy to the G7 and G20, and chair of the Bank for International Settlements Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure.


Masato Kanda      Presentation slides
Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Japan

  

Masato Kanda is Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Japanese Ministry of Finance. Since he joined the ministry in 1987, he has held many senior positions, including Deputy Director General of the Budget Bureau (2017‐2018), Deputy Vice‐Minister for Policy Planning and Coordination (2019), and Director‐General of the International Bureau (2020). He has previously held senior roles at the World Bank and OECD. He serves as Chairman for the Corporate Governance Committee, OECD (2016‐ ). He obtained his M.Phil in Economics from Oxford University in 1991 after his BA in Law and Politics from the University of Tokyo in 1987.


Hoe Ee Khor       Presentation slides
Chief Economist, ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO)

 

Hoe Ee Khor is Chief Economist and a member of Senior Management of AMRO responsible for overseeing macroeconomic and financial market surveillance of the ASEAN+3 member economies. Prior to joining AMRO in 2016, Dr. Khor was Deputy Director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund. Dr. Khor was Assistant Managing Director at the Monetary Authority of Singapore from 2001 to 2009. Dr. Khor obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Economics/Mathematics from the University of Rochester and a PhD in Economics from Princeton University.


Adam S. Posen              Presentation slides       
President, Peterson Institute for International Economics

 

Adam S. Posen is president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He was one of the first economists to analyse Japan's Great Recession as a failure of macroeconomic policy. While an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1994–97, he co-authored Inflation Targeting: Lessons from the International Experience. From 2009-12, during the global financial crisis, Posen served as an external voting member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. In 2014, he was made an honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by H.M. the Queen for his service to British economic policy. In 2021, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (with Gold Rays and Neck Ribbon) by H.M. the Emperor for his service to Japanese economic policy and U.S.-Japan relations. Posen received his BA and PhD from Harvard University.


 

Moderator

Hiroshi Watanabe
President, Intitute for International Monetary Affairs (IIMA)

Hiroshi Watanabe graduated from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law in 1972 and entered the Japanese Ministry of Finance (JMOF) in the same year. He occupied various senior positions in the Tax Bureau, the International Bureau, and others at the JMOF before serving as Vice-Minister of Finance for International Affairs. After retiring from the JMOF in 2007, he became a Professor at Hitotsubashi University Graduate School, Deputy Governor of Japan Finance Corporation (JFC), and President of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) from 2013 to 2016. Since October 2016, he has been President of the IIMA.