Yasuyuki Sawada is Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He also serves as Director General of the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, which publishes ADB’s flagship knowledge products such as Asian Development Outlook (ADO). Mr. Sawada is on leave from his professorship at the Faculty of Economics, the University of Tokyo, Japan.
Mr. Sawada has over 20 years of experience as an economist, researcher, and academic. He has worked at the ADB Institute in Tokyo and served as consultant for various projects at the World Bank Group. He has also served as a visiting professor at Stanford University’s Stanford Center for International Development and adjunct professor of economics at Korea University.
Mr. Sawada has conducted a variety of field-level studies in developing countries and has a deep insight about development issues. His research has contributed to the works of various institutions including: the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS); Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA); Crawford School of Public Policy’s Australia–Japan Research Center at the Australian National University; Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE); International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines; International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Sri Lanka; and, Research Institute of Economy, Trade, and Industry (RIETI) in Japan.
He has published and reviewed numerous books, reports, and journal articles, on diversified topics pertaining to Asia and other developing countries, ranging from macro development issues, such as long-term economic growth and structural change, sovereign debt sustainability, foreign aid, trade, ageing and social security, and natural and man-made disasters to micro issues of poverty, education, infrastructure, microenterprises, microfinance, health, and disabilities.
A leading figure in development economics and applied micro-econometrics, his continuous engagement in policy-oriented research projects contributes extensively towards supporting the ADB’s development goals. He is a recipient of various awards such as the Nikkei Book Prize, Ishikawa Prize of Japanese Economic Association, Kiyoshi Kojima Prize of the Japanese International Economic Association; Enjoji Jiro Prize of Nikkei Center (JCER), and Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize. He holds a Doctorate degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in International Development Policy from Stanford University, USA.