Lead Economist of World Bank Speaks at UE
Farrukh Iqbal, lead economist of the Middle East and Africa region for the World Bank, was a guest speaker in the University of Evansville Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana’s International Speaker Series, Monday, on April 5, at 5 p.m. Iqbal, who has been the principal and senior economist for countries throughout East Asia and the Pacific, including Korea and the Philippines, discussed "Engaging with the World: Trade and Development in the Middle East" during the lecture which was in Vectren Lecture Hall (Room 100), Koch Center for Engineering and Science.
Iqbal has been with World Bank since 1983. World Bank was founded 60 years ago to rebuild Europe after World War II. Over time, its mission has changed quite dramatically and its current focus is to develop countries and aid the people within the poorest countries.
Iqbal said the public presentation focused on key aspects of the international competitiveness of the Middle East. The Middle East region faces major challenges in generating higher growth and employment in the future, he said. Integrating with larger markets through trade offers the best hope for meeting these challenges. "However, the region’s recent record in this regard is not strong. It has lagged behind in expanding trade in both goods and services. It remains dependent on natural resources and tourism for the bulk of its export earnings, rather than on a broad and sophisticated range of manufacturing and service activities." Iqbal discussed the reasons for weak trade performance include aspects of exchange rate and tariff policies, as well as the skills, infrastructure, institutions and regulations that characterize the investment climate and knowledge base of the region.
Also during the day’s activities at UE, Iqbal talked with UE students about The World Bank’s Development Mission. This was not be a new experience for Iqbal, as he has graciously worked for several years with University of Evansville students on projects and presenting guest lectures via telephone for the classes of Professor of Finance Walayet Khan.
Iqbal’s areas of expertise include structural adjustment policies, private sector development and institutional development. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his doctorate in economics from Yale University and is the author or editor of several books including Small Firm Dynamism in East Asia, Deregulation and Development in Indonesia, Local Government Development in Japan, and Democracy, Market Economics and Development: An Asian Perspective.