The First Non-Westerner in 83 Years
Korean-American economist and Princeton University Professor Shin Hyun-song has been appointed the economic advisor of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a position that has been dominated by Americans and Europeans for the past 83 years. BIS is the oldest international financial institution in the world, often called the “Central Bank of central banks” for arranging fiscal policies for each country’s central bank. It is also the organization that sets and announces the “BIS Equity Capital Rate,” which evaluates the stability of a financial institution.
On September 9, BIS appointed Professor Shin the new Economic Advisor and Head of Research. Professor Shin begins his five year term on May 1, 2014.
Professor Shin will act as a “head economist” at BIS. Specifically, he will be in charge of research at BIS, and thus affect the global economy with his analysis.
Central Bank News commented, “The fact that BIS appointed an Asian to its economic advisor position proves that BIS is growing into a truly global institution, no longer limited to Europe only.”
Professor Shin was also named as a part of the Executive Committee, the best in BIS. Only six people including Professor Shin participate in this committee.
Professor Shin graduated from Oxford University with a Ph. D. in Economics and taught in the London School of Economics (LSE) until 2006, when he went to teach at Princeton University. In September of 2006, he accurately anticipated the economic crisis in 2008 at the annual general meeting of International Monetary Fund (IMF), gaining fame as an expert in international economics. In 2006, he served as an economist at the IMF and in 2010, as an advisor to the president on the national economy.