31 May 2019

The Asian Monetary Policy Forum (AMPF) convened for the sixth year in Singapore on 31 May 2019. This annual flagship event offers a valuable platform for internationally prominent academicians, policymakers and financial practitioners to exchange views and share insights on the pertinent economic, financial and monetary policy issues confronting Asia. The highlights of the Forum include presentations and discussions on the dominant role of the US dollar and its implications on monetary policies, as well as challenges posed by digital currencies.

Joint Dinner for ABFER and AMPF

A joint dinner on 30 May 2019 marked the close of the annual Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research (ABFER) conference, and the official opening of the AMPF. The dinner featured a keynote speech on “The International Monetary and Financial System in the Face of Shifting Geopolitics” by Sir Paul Tucker, Chair of the Systemic Risk Council and Senior Fellow at the Center for European Studies, Harvard University.

Opening Address by Dr. Philipp Hildebrand, Vice Chairman of BlackRock

Dr. Hildebrand provided an overview on the global economy, highlighting the vulnerabilities and constraints in monetary policies faced by the advanced economies, as well as the need for Asia to place resilience at the top of its own economic policies and strategies. Importantly, he suggested that central banks placed greater attention to the distribution effects of their policy choices and called for better communication of distributional impacts of policies to the public.

Commissioned Paper and Discussions

Professor Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas (1.82 MB), Professor of Economics, S.K. and Angela Chan Professor of Global Management at the Haas School of Business, and Director of the Clausen Center for International Business and Policy, University of California, Berkeley, presented the commissioned paper on “The Dollar Hegemon? Implications for Policy Makers" (2.04 MB). Professor Gourinchas drew out implications of the dominance of the US dollar for both real and financial transactions, highlighting the risks posed by a diminishing supply of US dollar safe assets. The commissioned paper was discussed by Professor Ricardo Caballero (680.3 KB), Ford International Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Dr. Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti (782 KB), Deputy Director, Research Department, International Monetary Fund. The discussion was chaired by Professor Bernard Yeung, Stephen Riady Distinguished Professor in Finance and Strategic Management, National University of Singapore and President of ABFER.

Dialogue with Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam

The afternoon session of the AMPF started with a Dialogue between Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, Singapore and Chairman of MAS, and Professor Steven Davis, William H. Abbott Distinguished Service Professor of International Business and Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. During the session, Mr. Shanmugaratnam and Professor Davis shared their views on the contemporaneous challenges faced by central banks as well as labour market dynamics and policies.

Policy Note on "Policy Implications of Digital Currencies"

This year’s policy notes focused on the theme of digital currencies. The session was moderated by Professor Andrew Levin (701 KB), Professor of Economics at the Dartmouth College. Against the current backdrop of fast-evolving and disruptive nature of technological advancement, Professor Darrell Duffie (134.6 KB), Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance at the Graduate School of Business and Senior Fellow of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Institute, presented on “Digital Currencies and Fast Payment Systems: Disruption is Coming” (201.8 KB). The other speaker in the session, Professor Beatrice Weder di Mauro (325.6 KB), President of Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), Distinguished Fellow-in-Residence, Emerging Markets Institute of INSEAD Singapore, Professor of Economics, Chair of Economic Policy and International Macroeconomics, University of Mainz, Germany, shared on “Cryptocurrencies’ Challenge to Central Banks” (166.7 KB) and cautioned against prematurely dismissing the relevance of the open economy trilemma.

Click here for details on all AMPF events.