Donghyun Park (Asian Development Bank)

According to Asian Development Outlook 2019 Update (ADOU), Asian Development Bank's flagship report launched on 25 September, developing Asia’s growth will continue to moderate, from 5.9% in 2018 to 5.4% in 2019 and 5.5% in 2020. Inflation will pick up slightly due to food price inflation. Downside risks continue to outweigh upside risks. While the on-going PRC-US trade conflict poses by far the biggest downside risk to the region, the buildup of debt, which rose by two thirds in the last decade, may also threaten stability and growth. A special analytical section of ADOU empirically analyzes the effect of public and private debt build-up on financial vulnerability, proxied by a measure of exchange rate pressure.

Speaker Biography:

Dr. Donghyun Park is currently Principal Economist at the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department (ERCD) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which he joined in April 2007. Prior to joining ADB, he was a tenured Associate Professor of Economics at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Dr. Park has a Ph.D. in economics from UCLA, and his main research fields are international finance, international trade, and development economics. His research, which has been published extensively in journals and books, revolves around policy-oriented topics relevant for Asia’s long-term development, including middle-income trap, service sector development, and financial sector development. Dr. Park plays a leading role in the production of Asian Development Outlook, ADB’s biannual flagship publication on macroeconomic issues, and leads the team that produces Asia Bond Monitor, ADB’s quarterly flagship report on emerging Asian bond markets.

Speakers: Donghyun Park (Asian Development Bank) and Satoshi Miyamura (SOAS)

Released by: SOAS Economics Podcasts