"Macro-Economic Trends & Policy Challenges: An Outsider’s View" via Zoom

Sergio Clavigo - Professor, Faculty of Economics - Universidad de los Andes, Colombia

Himself Professor Sergio Clavijo will be addressing the recent macro-performance (growth, unemployment, inflation and interest rates) of the USA in comparison with Europe (27-members of the European Union); the main idea being to decipher the probability of a macroeconomic "soft-landing". Then he will take a snapshot of the Emerging Markets performance (BRICs and LATAM). Finally, he will assess world policy challenges regarding fiscal, social, and institutional areas, with particular focus on the USA-November Presidential Elections.

About the Speaker

Sergio is a citizen of Columbia and will be joining us via Zoom. His brother Martin is a long-term BBRC member. Sergio has a distinguished career as shown below. He is presently Professor of Economics at Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. His academic background is: Ph.D. in Economics (1987), University of Illinois (Urbana); U.S.A; Master of Arts in Economics (1980), Univ. de los Andes, Bogotá; Colombia; Economist (1979), Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá; Colombia; High School (1973), "Woodrow Wilson HS" Long-Beach, California; U.S.A. Professional and Academic Experience: Professor Faculty of Economics - Universidad de los Andes, Colombia currently; Executive Director of (think-tank) ANIF (Nat. Assoc. Fin. Inst., 2005 – 2019); Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Colombia, November 1999 – February 2005; Deputy-Minister of Finance of Colombia, August 1998 – October 1999; Advisor Commission on Public Spending; World Bank- UNDP Project, Bogotá, November 1995 - April 1997; Advisor Minister of Finance; July 1993 - September 1994; reappointed August 1994 - November 1995. Economist International Monetary Fund, Washington D.C.; Western Hemisphere Department; July 1991 - June 1993. Chief Economist (Special Studies Section), Research Dept. Central Bank of Colombia; and Editor of the Journal of the Research Dept, (ie. Ensayos sobre Política Económica); Sept.1989 - June 1991. Senior Researcher, Research Dept., Central Bank of Colombia; July 1987 - August 1989. Doctoral Studies, Dissertation: "Essays on Monetary Issues of Small Open Economies: Theory and Some Evidence for Colombia"; Chairman: S.Turnovsky; June 1984 - June 1987. Head of the Fiscal Division, Research Dept., Central Bank of Colombia; May 1983 - May 1984: Researcher of the Special Studie Board participation includes member of the Colombian Stock Exchange Board (BVC), 2009-2020 and President of Colombia's largest private Pension Fund Investment Committee (2007-presentl). Distinctions: Research Award “German Botero de los Rios” on Economics of 2012: Colombian Fiscal Policy 2012-2020 (Published as a Book); granted by Fedesarrollo (think-tank). Best Economics Book of 1998: “Fiscal Policy and State Organization in Colombia” (Published by Uniandes – Banco de la Republica). Visiting Scholar at the IMF in Washington, D.C., Western Hemisphere Department, 1995, 1997, and 2009. Fellow of the ‘Salzburg Seminar’-Austria, April 2000 and April 1997. Fellow of the Inter-American Development Bank (AIDB) Network of Ministries of Finance and Central Banks. First Place in the 1991 Latin-American Research paper Competition Organized by The Central Banks of Latin-America (CEMLA), with the paper "Stabilization Policies in Latin America: Some Lessons for Colombia"; January of 1993. First Place in the Research Paper Competition, Economics Department, Graduate School, University of Illinois (Urbana) with the paper "International Reserves and Foreign Exchange Black-Market Under 'Crawling-Peg': Theoretical and Empirical Issues", Published in the National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No.8, Special-Series, June 1986. Awarded the "American Field Service" Scholarship to study abroad his high school Senior Year, in Long-Beach, California; 1972-1973.