The Reserve Bank (RBNZ) is looking for two new external members for its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
The two will succeed Caroline Saunders and Peter Harris when their terms end on March 31 and June 30 next year, respectively.
Neil Quigley, Chairman of the RBNZ Board, says “suitably qualified" candidates will be interviewed later this year and assessed against the appointment criteria. The names of candidates recommended by the Board will then be provided to the Minister of Finance after October's election.
The RBNZ says applications will be assessed against various criteria including expertise in monetary policy and macroeconomics, including those carrying out ongoing research in these areas; and relevant professional knowledge, skills and experience in public policy and banking.
"Applicants will require a strong understanding of conflicts of interest, the sensitivity associated with 'inside knowledge' of monetary policy decisions, and the constraints on other activities that are necessarily associated with membership of the MPC," Quigley says.
“The final appointment decisions and timing is up to the Minister, but we expect appointments to be announced by early 2024. After the two new MPC members are inducted, they will officially begin their appointments on 1 April or 1 July 2024, respectively."
External MPC members are appointed for a term of up to four years and can be reappointed for one further term, also of up to four years.
Since April 2019 the MPC has been responsible for maintaining a stable general level of prices over the medium term and supporting maximum sustainable employment, the RBNZ's monetary policy remit.
The MPC is made up of four internal RBNZ members and three external members. Monetary policy decisions, such as setting the Official Cash Rate (OCR), are made by the seven members of the committee. Prior to the MPC's establishment the RBNZ Governor was solely responsible for setting the OCR.
Saunders, who has a PhD in agricultural economics, is currently Professor of International Trade and the Environment and Director at Lincoln University's Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit. She's also a director on Landcare Research NZ's board, and sits on the Biosecurity Ministerial Advisory Committee.
Harris is an economist with extensive experience in the trade union movement, including a decade as Council of Trade Union Economist. He's currently an economic consultant, and has been a member of the Electricity Commission and an associate member of the Commerce Commission. He was Economic Advisor to Minister of Finance Michael Cullen from 1999 to 2002.
The third external member of the MPC is Bob Buckle, Professor Emeritus at Victoria University of Wellington.
MPC appointments are made by the Minister of Finance, on the recommendation of the RBNZ Board.
18 Comments
Grant Robinson will hopefully put his hat in looking for a job in a few months. Don't know if he has the qualifications but he feels he has done a great job running the country easy to blame the war for everything wether that will suffice with the RB will be interesting
Finding some academics who aren't mired in groupthink and who have an actual understanding of economics would be a good start, such people don't exist in NZ unfortunately. Perhaps we could bring some from Japan where they understand that meddling with interest rates actually has no effect on inflation.
Not even sure they should be academics tread. Perhaps some people with real world experience of monetary policy, finance and economics would be good. No good will come of stacking with professors and (parasitic) unionists who are more interested in slicing the economic pie into ever smaller and more even pieces, rather than growing the size of the pie and the slices.
'Any candidate must convince the recruitment panel that they have blind faith in medieval monetarism.'
Talking of which, the latest article from James K Galbraith is well worth a read. Maybe we could ask him to apply a seat on the board?
The "economists" are paid to overlook new, better approaches, if they fail to support "The Narrative". https://theconversation.com/why-central-ba Link
Better prep for the interview where you’ll have to:
- pick a winning horse
- guess the mothers maiden name of each panelist correctly
- spin around 10times then walk across the room and chug a beer
- last of all you still need to roll the elusive 17 on a dodecahedron dice
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