Dr. Erh-Cheng Hwa Chief Economist

Dr. Hwa is an expert in economic development and international finance. With over two decades with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, Dr. Hwa is recognized as a leader in Asian economic development strategy.

In 1980, he joined the World Bank eventually being promoted to lead economist in the department of economic management in the East Asia region. In 1987, while on leave from the world bank, he worked with GSIF's CEO, Dr. Yang, assisting the Taiwan government re-orient industrial policy under a framework that became known as the "The Promotion of Industrial Upgrading Clause." This reorientation has been credited with helping Taiwan avoid the 1997/98 Asian Financial Crisis that punished economies throughout the region.

Since 1992, Dr. Hwa has been involved with Mainland China's economic development and reform programs serving as head of the economics unit and senior economist at the World Bank's Beijing office until 1997. Dr. Hwa has published extensively on the China and Taiwan economic development experience, earning the 1998 PRC National Book Prize for his book The Soft-landing of the Chinese Economy.

Dr. Hwa graduated from National Taiwan University in 1967 and received his doctorate degree from Cornell University in 1975.