KATHMANDU: Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Dr Jong-Wha Lee as Chief Economist.

Dr Lee, a national of the Republic of Korea, is currently the head of ADB’s Office of Regional Economic Integration. Since October 2008, he has also held the position of Acting Chief Economist in ADB’s Economics and Research Department (ERD). Dr Lee has over 20 years of professional experience as an economist and academic.

He worked at International Monetary Fund and taught at Harvard University as a

visiting professor. He served as a consultant to Harvard Institute for International Development, Inter-American Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations Development Programme and World Bank. He also served as a member of the National Economic Advisory Council in the Republic of Korea.

Prior to joining ADB in 2007, Dr Lee was director of the International Center for Korean Studies and a Professor of Economics at Korea University. He has authored numerous books and reviewed journal articles in English and Korean, especially on topics relating to human capital, growth, financial crisis and economic integration.

As Chief Economist, Dr Lee will be chief spokesperson

for ADB on economic forecasts and trends. ERD undertakes economics and policy research and capacity building, supports ADB operations, networks

with the international research community, and produces the annual Asian Development Outlook, ADB’s flagship publication forecasting economic trends in the region.

“I’m looking forward to helping ERD build on its already substantial reputation for producing robust economic data and analysis for our developing member countries,” said Dr Lee. He got his PhD and Master’s in Economics from Harvard University, and Master’s and Bachelor in Economics from Korea University in Seoul.