By Marissa Lee

A LEADING American academic has been appointed the inaugural professor for the MAS Term Professorship in Economics and Finance at National University of Singapore (NUS), it was announced yesterday.

Professor Barry Eichengreen, 58, is a professor of economics and political science at the University of California, Berkeley.

He was formerly senior policy adviser to the International Monetary Fund.

The professorship was established last year and will be sponsored by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for five years.

It is aimed at strengthening financial and economic research through closer collaboration between academia, industry and the public sector.

Prof Eichengreen, who is in town for a week, will interact with policymakers, MAS staff, as well as faculty and students of the NUS Department of Economics and the NUS Business School.

He will also deliver a public lecture tomorrow on Asian integration.

Prof Eichengreen will make another visit later in the year.

Mr Ong Chong Tee, deputy managing director of MAS, said yesterday: 'Given his vast experience and expertise on the history and evolution of the international financial system, Professor Eichengreen will have useful views and insights on the challenges facing the global economy and financial markets.'

Professor Tan Eng Chye, NUS deputy president of academic affairs, added: 'His appointment would contribute towards building up research capabilities and intellectual capacity in finance and economics at the university, as well as raise our profile as a centre for research and teaching in these fields.'

Prof Eichengreen has written commentaries on the history and operation of the international monetary and financial system, exchange rates and capital flows, and Asian integration.

Arguably his best-known work is Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression, 1919-1939, in which he put forward the idea that the gold standard is the key to understanding the Great Depression.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.