With increasing globalisation, the central bank’s main task to maintain monetary stability has been made more challenging, especially for small and open economies like those of the SEACEN region. The sizeable and volatile capital flows, the dependence on exports as a major source of growth are but a few causes of potential shocks that could be further amplified by any perception of policy inconsistency by the market. It is thus imperative that central banks’capability in managing macroeconomic and monetary policy is continuously strengthened. In response to this need, The SEACEN Centre has been conducting training on macroeconomic and monetary policy (MMPM). The annual course is mounted at two levels. This intermediate Course placed emphasis on technical and analytical aspects of macroeconomic and monetary policy management, with several hands-on exercises and case studies. The advanced course on the other hand will focus on policy making and implementation issues.  This Course was once again conducted in collaboration with the Center for Monetary Policy Cooperation in Asia (CeMCoA) of the Bank of Japan.  

Objectives: Through a combination of lectures, case study, group work and panel discussion, participants at the end of the Event were able to: (i) assess macroeconomic conditions based on international best practices; (ii) explain implications of international capital flows for the conduct of monetary policy; (iii) describe monetary policy frameworks and operations as well as transmission mechanism based on theories and practices; (iv) explain current policy issues and challenges; and (v) recommend policy interest rate to achieve monetary policy objectives.

Resource Persons: The faculty of resource persons comprised experts and policy practitioners from Bank of Japan; the Bank for International Settlements (BIS); Central Bank of Sri Lanka; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; Bank of Thailand; Reserve Bank of Australia; Bank Negara Malaysia; Bank Indonesia; International Monetary Fund (IMF) and The SEACEN Centre.

Target Group: Participants comprised middle-level officers or technical staff from central banks or monetary authorities, whose work involve macroeconomic surveillance and analyses of monetary policy, financial policy and financial stability. A total of 31 participants from 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region attended the Course.