Strained Bedfellows: What We Can Do to Make Open Economies Inclusive

The Peterson Institute for International Economics was honored to host Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore’s deputy prime minister and coordinating minister for economic and social policies, for the Institute’s 18th Annual Stavros Niarchos Foundation Lecture on “Strained Bedfellows: What We Can Do to Make Open Economies Inclusive” on May 30, 2018.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman, one of the most creative, independent-minded, and influential economic policymakers today, offered his analysis of why globalization and social inclusiveness have been increasingly at odds, how they are each indispensable for national well-being and global peace, and how the paths to achieve both require a new ambition for the state.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Lecture has been presented at the Institute in previous years by such noted economists turned global policymakers as Agustín Carstens, Alan Greenspan, Mervyn King, Mario Monti, Lawrence Summers, Jean-Claude Trichet, Long Yongtu, and Ernesto Zedillo. Our signature annual event is made possible by the generous ongoing support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

Tharman was appointed Singapore’s deputy prime minister in 2011. He is also chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator. He chairs the Group of Thirty, an independent global council of leading economic and financial policymakers, as well as the G-20 Eminent Persons Group on Global Financial Governance. Tharman led the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), the key policy forum of the International Monetary Fund, from 2011 to 2014. He served as Singapore’s minister for finance from 2007 to 2015, as minister for education from 2003 to 2008.