Shanaka Jayanath (Jay) Peiris is the Asia and Pacific Department’s Division Chief of Regional Studies and Mission Chief for the Philippines, leading the flagship publication of the Regional Economic Outlook. He was previously IMF Mission Chief for Myanmar and Deputy Division Chief covering ASEAN macro financial surveillance. His prior stints include IMF Resident Representative in the Philippines, Mission Chief to Tonga, and extensive surveillance and program experience in Asia and Africa. He joined the IMF Economist Program in 2001 after completing his PhD in Economics at Oxford University as a British Chevening Scholar. He has published academic journal papers on a wide range of topics including inclusive growth, monetary policy and inflation, bond markets, banking and finance, macroeconomic models for emerging markets and co-edited books on ASEAN and sub-Saharan Africa.