Intervenant

Kwame Sundaram JOMO

Professor - Institute of Strategic & International Studies

Jomo Kwame Sundaram holds the Tun Hussein Onn Chair in International Studies at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia, and is Visiting Senior Fellow at Khazanah Research Institute, Visiting Fellow at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University, and Adjunct Professor at the International Islamic University in Malaysia. He was UN Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development (2005-12), Research Coordinator for the G24 Intergovernmental Group on International Monetary Affairs and Development during 2006-12, and Assistant Director General for Economic and Social Development, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (2012-15). He has authored and edited over a hundred books and translated 12 volumes besides writing many academic papers and media articles. He has received several honours and awards for his work including the 2007 Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought.

Jomo was Professor in the Applied Economics Department, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya until November 2004, Founder Director (1978-2004) of the Institute of Social Analysis (INSAN) and Founder Chair (2001-2004) of IDEAs, International Development Economics Associates (www.ideaswebsite.org); he now serves on its Advisory Panel. He was also on the Board of the United Nations Research Institute on Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva. He is on the editorial boards of several learned journals.

During 2008-2009, Jomo served as adviser to Father Miguel d’Escoto, the President of the 63^rd United Nations General Assembly, and as a member of the [Stiglitz] Commission of Experts of the President of the United Nations General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System. During 2010-2012, he was G20 sherpa to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and also UN G20 Finance Deputy during 2011-2012.

Born in Penang, Malaysia, in 1952, Jomo studied at the Penang Free School (PFS, 1964-1966), Royal Military College (RMC, 1967-1970), Yale (BA, 1970-1973) and Harvard (MPA, PhD, 1973-1977). He has taught at Science University of Malaysia (USM, 1974), Harvard (1974-1975), Yale (1977), National University of Malaysia (UKM, 1977-1982), University of Malaya (1982-2004), and Cornell (1993). He has also been a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University (1987-1988; 1991-1992) and a Senior Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore (2004).

Some of his most cited book publications include Rents, Rent-Seeking and Economic Development: Theory and the Asian Evidence, Tigers in Trouble, Globalization Versus Development: Heterodox Perspectives, Southeast Asia’s Industrialization, Southeast Asian Paper Tigers? Behind Miracle and Debacle, Manufacturing Competitiveness: How Internationally Competitive National Firms And Industries Developed In East Asia, Ethnic Business? Chinese Capitalism in Southeast Asia, After The Storm: Crisis, Recovery and Sustaining Development in East Asia, The Origins of Development Economics, Pioneers of Development Economics, The New Development Economics, the two volumes of The Long Twentieth Century — Globalization Under Hegemony: The Changing World Economy and The Great Divergence: Hegemony, Uneven Development and Global Inequality, Policy Matters: Economic And Social Policies To Sustain Equitable Development, Flat World, Big Gaps: Economic Liberalization, Globalization, Poverty and Inequality, Growth Divergences: Explaining Differences in Economic Performance, Towards Full and Decent Employment, Reforming the International Financial System for Development, Poor Poverty: The Impoverishment of Analysis, Measurement and Policies, Is Good Governance Good for Development?, Globalization and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa and Ending Malnutrition.

Some of his titles on Malaysia include Malaysia’s Political Economy, Malaysian Eclipse: Economic Crisis and Recovery, Ugly Malaysians? South-South Investments Abused, Deforesting Malaysia: The Political Economy of Agricultural Expansion and Commercial Logging, M Way: Mahathir’s Economic Policy Legacy, Bail-Outs? Capital Controls, Restructuring & Recovery in Malaysia, Malaysian Industrial Policy and Malaysia@50: Development, Distribution, Disparities.