Sunday, February 11, 2007, 3:00 pm – 4:15 pm
Trade has spurred rapid economic growth in Asia, improving the standard of living of millions and reducing global poverty faster than ever before. Economic development and expanded integration into the global economy have provided resources for improved health and education, but have also transformed Asian societies in important ways. At the same time, Asia’s increasingly important role in the global trading economy has created new opportunities and challenges for the rest of the world. Panelists will discuss their views on the positive and negative role of trade in Asia's economic development, how trade in Asia is changing, and how Asia’s rapidly changing economies will affect the global economy in the years ahead.
Dr. Franck S. Wiebe is Managing Director for Economic Analysis for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). Prior to joining MCC, Dr. Wiebe was Chief Economist and Director of Economic Reform and Development programs at The Asia Foundation. Dr. Wiebe also worked for the Harvard Institute for International Development, where he served as project associate on the Customs and Economic Management Project in Jakarta, Indonesia. Other previous appointments include serving as faculty member in the Master of Public Policy Program at National University of Singapore, and consultant for the Government of Indonesia, The World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. Dr. Wiebe received a joint bachelor/master degree from Northwestern University, a Master in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in development economics from the Food Research Institute at Stanford University. His full biography is available here (external website).
Professor Dapice joined the Tufts faculty in 1973 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1980. He has specialized in development economics, especially in Southeast Asia. He has taken leave at the World Bank (as a Brookings Policy Fellow in 1976-77), the Rockefeller Foundation (1980-81), and the Harvard Institute for International Development (1990-91) where he is now a Faculty Associate engaged in half-time research, supported by foundation grants. He received tenure in 1980 and has served as Chair of the Economics Department. His recent professional activities have centered on researching and assisting with the economic reforms in Vietnam. He has contributed to several books on that topic and teaches at the Fulbright School in Ho Chi Minh City. His full biography is available here.
Ginny Foote is Executive Vice President of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council. Before joining the council in January 2005, Ginny was the Co-Founder and President of the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council and Director of its educational affiliate, the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council Education Forum. Ms. Foote is also Executive Director of The International Center. In 1980, Ginny joined the International Center and she was named director of the Commission on U.S. Asian Relations in 1986. As part of the International Center, she has worked extensively on foreign policy issues relating to the Philippines, Korea, Burma, Taiwan, China, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Ginny holds a B.A. in International Economics from Hampshire College.
Rachel McCulloch is Chair of the Department of Economics and the Rosen Family Professor of International Finance at Brandeis University. Rachel McCulloch's research focuses on international economic policy. Currently a member of the Advisory Committee of the Institute for International Economics and the Academic Advisory Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Dr. McCulloch has served as a consultant to the World Bank and to several government agencies and foundations. She was also a member of the Technology Assessment Advisory Council of the U.S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (1979-87), the President's Commission on Industrial Competitiveness (1984-85), and the Committee on International Relations Studies with the People's Republic of China (1984-92). Prior to joining the Brandeis faculty in 1987, Dr. McCulloch taught at the University of Chicago, Harvard University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2004-05, she was AGIP Professor of International Economics at the Bologna Center of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Her full biography is available here (external website).