News from Asia and the Pacific

Young Asian Officials Celebrate Graduation under the Japan-IMF Scholarship Program

June 18, 2019, Tokyo – More than 30 young officials from Asian countries celebrated today their graduation from respective graduate schools under the Japan-IMF Scholarship Program for Asia (JISPA), showcasing their research results and academic achievements at a thesis presentation event held in Tokyo.

The event was a highlight of the scholarship program where a representative of each of the four JISPA partnership universities and two open-track PhD courses presented a summary of their thesis. This year, six scholars made presentations on timely topics, including monetary policy formulation and financial stability; financial market development; government expenditure and its impact on income inequality; labor market dynamics and how they affect firm productivity; and the effectiveness of government programs to improve health services.

Professors and fellow scholars offered comments on their work and suggestions on the development of further research topics.

Following the thesis presentations, the scholars joined a farewell reception to celebrate the completion of their respective graduate programs, both master’s and PhD’s. Professor Masahiko Takeda of Hitotsubashi University said in his farewell remarks that they will play an important role in the management of their respective economies in a period of global uncertainty.

In response, Ms. Marie Romarate from the central bank of the Philippines made a speech on behalf of the graduating scholars. “Our journey as JISPA scholars began two years ago during the orientation program, which helped us become friends despite coming from different cultures,” she said, noting the meeting with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and the attendance to an inaugural summer workshop as most memorable.

“We will miss seeing the people who have become like a family to us. We will take away with us not only the skills but all the memories and the important connections with these future policymakers across Asia.”

JISPA is a specialized scholarship for young officials of Asian central banks, finance ministries and related agencies who wish to pursue a graduate degree in economics at universities in Japan. This year, 33 scholars from several recent batches of the JISPA program graduated, including 31 master’s scholars and two PhD scholars.

Prior to the graduation events, the scholars were afforded an opportunity on June 17 to visit the Japanese Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan to learn through meetings and discussions how these entities operate. They learnt about Japan’s debt management policies from the finance ministry and about Japan’s FinTech developments and their implications for regulators at the central bank, and exchanged views on debt sustainability and the benefits/risks of FinTech.

The 2019 graduating scholars will join the JISPA family of more than 700 alumni, many of whom are actively engaged in economic policymaking in their countries as senior officials, as high as central bank governor and minister. Just like other alumni, the graduating scholars are expected to inspire young officials to follow suit.