Prior to joining the ADB in October 2005,
Mr. Kawai was a Professor of Economics at the University of Tokyo’s Institute
of Social Science. Mr. Kawai also served
as Chief Economist for the World Bank’s East Asia and the Pacific Region from
1998 to 2001, and worked for Japan’s Ministry of Finance from 2001 to 2003 as
Deputy Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs and later as the
President of the ministry’s Policy Research Institute.
Mr. Kawai has written books and numerous academic articles on international trade and finance, on economic globalization and regionalization, on regional financial integration and cooperation in East Asia, including lessons from the Asian financial crisis, and on the international currency system. Some of his publications include: The New World Fiscal Order: Implications for Industrialized Nations (co-edited), Urban Institute, 1996; Exchange Rate Regimes in East Asia (co-edited), Routledge Curzon, 2004; and Policy Coherence towards East Asia: Development Challenges for OECD Countries (co-edited), Development Centre, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2005.
He graduated with his B.A. and M.A. degrees in Economics from the University of Tokyo’s Economics Department. He earned his M.S. degree in Statistics and Ph.D. degree in Economics from Stanford University.