Malaysia is no ordinary developing country by any measure. Its impressive development record is testimony to its economic prowess and potential. Malaysia’s Vision 2020 aspiration to join the league of developed nations looked highly feasible when it was crafted two decades ago. Calculations showed that the economy needed to grow at an average of seven per cent per annum to reach the developed status in terms of income per capita. Unfortunately, economic growth has decelerated considerably since the Asian financial crisis in 1997. The current economic sluggishness is not simply a cyclical phenomenon, as there are structural impediments which may lead the economy into a middle-income trap. To avoid this Malaysia is looking to reinvent its economy with bold policy reforms. In this lecture Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Mohamed Ariff will look at what Malaysia is doing to become a high-income economy and what efforts are currently underway to take the economy to the next level.

Professor Emeritus Datuk Mohamed Ariff is a specialist in International Economics and the Malaysian economy, Professor of Economics and Governance at the International Centre For Education In Islamic Finance (INCIEF) and a Distinguished Fellow at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER). He was formerly the Executive Director of MIER. Prior to that he held the Chair of Analytical Economics at the University of Malaya where he had also served as the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administration. His book The Malaysian Economy: Pacific Connections, published by Oxford University Press, won the prestigious Tun Razak Award in 1993. His research focus is on international trade, foreign direct investments and regional economic integration and the Malaysian economy.

This lecture is presented by the Arndt-Corden Department of Economics at Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University.

This event is free and open to the public, light lunch provided.