dr. Swati Dhingra will replace the current outside member, Michael Saunders. (FILE)
London:
Leading UK-based academic Dr Swati Dhingra has been named as the first woman of Indian descent to be appointed as an external member of the Bank of England’s interest rate setting committee.
Ms Dhingra is an associate professor of economics at the London School of Economics (LSE) specializing in international economics and applied microeconomics.
Ms Dhingra, who studied at the University of Delhi and obtained her master’s degree from the Delhi School of Economics, will join the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on 9 August for a three-year term.
The Bank of England’s independent MPC makes decisions about the functioning of the UK’s monetary policy. It consists of the Governor of the Bank of England, the three deputy governors, a member of the Bank responsible for monetary policy and four external members appointed by the Chancellor.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced her appointment last week, describing her as someone who will bring “valuable new expertise” to the committee, which has the crucial task of setting the country’s interest rates.
“Dr Swati Dhingra’s experience in international economics will bring valuable new expertise to the MPC. I am delighted to appoint her to this role and look forward to her contribution to policy making in the years to come,” the Indian Finance Minister said in a statement. statement.
Ms Dhingra replaces the current external member, Michael Saunders, who has been in the MPC since August 2016.
“The committee’s work is of major importance as the UK faces an exceptional cost of living crisis amid the global challenges of the pandemic and war,” said Ms Dhingra, referring to her appointment.
“It will be an honor to learn from the Bank’s vast expertise and regional visits, ‘to listen and explain’, and to provide evidence for the committee’s crucial policy decisions,” she said.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey welcomed the move, saying the academic’s “insights and perspective” will be hugely beneficial to the bank’s discussions.
“We will benefit from her extensive research in international economics,” he said.
In addition to her role at the London School of Economics, Ms Dhingra is an elected member of the Council of the Royal Economic Society and serves on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed ‘Review of Economic Studies’ and an Associate Editor for the ‘Journal or International Economics’. She is also a research associate for the trade program at the Center for Economic Performance and a Research Fellow of the Center for Economic Policy Research.
She completed her MS and PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has been a member of the UK Trade Modeling Review Expert Panel and LSE’s Economic Diplomacy Commission in the past. She is currently director of the Royal Mint Museum and member of the steering committee for the research project “The Economy 2030 Inquiry”.
According to the UK government’s Treasury Department, the appointment of external members of the MPC is intended to ensure that the committee benefits from thinking skills and expertise, in addition to knowledge gained within the bank.
Each member of the MPC has expertise in economics and monetary policy and is independent and does not represent specific groups or areas.
Ms Dhingra has reportedly been appointed following an open recruitment process led by the Treasury, based on recommendations to Mr Sunak by a panel of advisers.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
