Economic expert Beatrice Weder di Mauro knows what really counts in economy

11. December 2018 – Melanie Hübner

When Beatrice Weder di Mauro was asked in 2012 to refrain from the recall to the Council of Economic Experts she earned a lot of respect. She had held the position in the German Panel of Experts for eight years and was, in 2004 when she was appointed to it, the first woman and foreigner to be called to the panel of experts by the federal government. She was the first „Economic Wise Woman“ ever. The Panel of Experts was created in 1964 at the initiation of the IMF to assess the development of the economy as a whole, also known as the ” Economic Wise Men”.

Beatrice Weder di Mauro ranks among the five most recognized economists in the world

Beatrice Weder di Mauro was then asked to join the board of the major bank UBS. Because she didn’t want to raise any conflict, she decided to give up her position in the Panel of Experts. At the time she said:”It was always important to me that any conflict with my task in the Panel of Experts should be avoided.”

She is described as charming and unpretentious. When she was appointed to the Panel of the „Five Economic Wise Men“, she raised to become one of the most recognized economists in the world. “Anyone who is appointed to the German Panel of Economic Experts in Germany has made it. No other scientific job in the world’s third largest economy gives more prestige, wrote the renowned German weekly newspaper „Die Zeit”.

In Germany, the proportion of women in economics students is estimated at 30 percent. At the postdoctoral level, the proportion drops again significantly and only 12 to 15 percent of women go for a professorship with lifetime position. Exact numbers are missing, but clearly Beatrice di Mauro has achieved something unique.

In Guatemala Beatrice Weder di Mauro got to know contrasts between rich and poor

Beatrice Weder di Mauro is married to top economist Filippo di Mauro, they have a son together.. She speaks seven languages, including Russian and Japanese, was born in 1965 and owns both the Swiss and Italian passport. She spent her childhood in Central American Guatemala where she got to know the glaring contrasts between poor and rich, experienced political unrest and decided, therefore, after the Abitur in Switzerland, that what she really wants is to help the poor. She wants to ask economic-politically relevant questions and believes that this is what economy is all about. She then started to study economics.

Her first job was with the IMF. Modern macroeconomics immediately fascinates her and to this day she loves a multilingual environment. She gets to meet the best economists in the world and, during her first six-month team deployment in Kyrgyzstan, she realizes that she wants to be right at the adjusting srews of the system.

Her career since then is impressive. Since July 2018 Beatrice Weder di Mauro is President of the Center for Economic Policy, a network of more than 1000 academic economists in Europe. She is Research Professor and Distinguished Fellow at the Emerging Markets Institute of INSEAD in Singapore.

Beatrice Weder di Mauro is certainly also one of the the top speakers in the field of economics. Her lecture topics include: global economy in turbulent times, economic and growth forecasts for Germany, populism, protectionism and unilateralism as well as everything about Europe.

Book Beatrice Weder di Mauro for a speech under Beatrice.Weder-di-Mauro@premium-speakers.com

Beatrice Weder di Mauro

Professor of International Economics & Finance