Vishuddhi Jayawickrema Email & Phone Number

Sri Lanka

As a Senior Economist attached to the Money and Banking Division, and subsequently the Modeling and Forecasting Division, I performed the following functions:• Coordinated the operation of core projection models of the Central Bank, providing forecasts of key macroeconomic variables for policy decisions.• Refined the existing suite of forecasting models, with technical assistance from international organizations, to enhance their forecast performance.• Coordinated and contributed to the reports submitted for the Monetary Board in each monetary policy cycle with emphasis on inflation dynamics and model-based macroeconomic outlook.• Assessed international developments and the outlook for global economic indicators to incorporate such effects for the projections of domestic economic variables.• Contributed to the Annual Report of the bank by writing sections on monetary policy, interest rates, inflation dynamics, and international economic outlook.• Contributed to the biannual Monetary Policy Report of the bank by writing sections on the outlook for economic growth and inflation.• Produced the first draft of the monetary policy press release in each monetary policy cycle and contributed to other monetary policy communiqués of the bank.• Coordinated with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), under its ongoing program, and other international organizations on economic outlook and policy.• Contributed to the confidential reports submitted to the Minister of Finance on potential risks to domestic price stability and policy recommendations.• Regularly assessed financial market conditions, focusing on the interest rate structure and corporate credit.• Managed changes to the monetary policy decision making process in line with the changes to the Central Bank’s legal framework.• Served in internal committees of the bank such as the Research Advisory Committee, and the committee to recommend changes to monetary policy implementation.

• Worked on a broad research agenda of collecting and analyzing high frequency data on the U.S. financial markets to assess the impact of monetary policy related information communicated via press releases, press conferences, FOMC minutes, and speeches of the Fed Chair and other key personnel.• Worked as a teaching assistant for subjects such as Intermediate Economics, Probability and Statistics, and Money and Banking.

As a Senior Economist attached to the Money and Banking Division, and subsequently the Modeling and Forecasting Division, I performed the following functions:• A founding member of the Modeling and Forecasting Division of the department, contributing to the development of the bank’s first large scale macroeconomic model for monetary policy purposes.• Coordinated and contributed to the reports submitted for the Monetary Board with macroeconomic developments, staff forecasts, and policy recommendations in each monetary policy cycle.• Contributing to enhancing the content on economic outlook in reports submitted to the Monetary Board, based on model based economic projections.• Provided regular analysis reports on developments in credit and monetary aggregates to the senior management.• Contributed to the Annual Report of the bank and the mid-year Recent Economic Development report by writing sections on monetary policy, interest rates, money supply, and macroeconomic issues and policies.• Worked as an internal language editor for selected chapters in key publications.• Coordinated with international organizations under the country programs to provide updates on the latest economic developments.

As an Economist attached to the Public Finance Division, I performed the following functions:• Provided regular analysis reports on developments in government revenue, expenditure, and budget deficit to the senior management.• Analyzed dynamics of public debt and the financing mix of the government to apprise the management on policy implications.• Contributed to compiling annual government finance statistics according to international standards.• Contributed to the Annual Report of the bank and the mid-year Recent Economic Development report by writing sections on fiscal policy and government finance.• Contributed to the confidential reports submitted to the Minister of Finance on fiscal policy and its implications on Central Bank operations.• Coordinated the provision of economic updates to sovereign credit rating agencies and sovereign bond issuing agencies of Sri Lanka.• Liaised with the IMF, under its country programs, and other international organizations on the latest developments in public finances.• Contributed to research on debt sustainability and rule based monetary policy under the overall research agenda of the department.• Contributed to organizing international central banking events to promote regional economic cooperation.

Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka

Commissioned new telecommunications infrastructure equipment to upgrade the mobile communications access network of Sri Lanka to the latest available technology.

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Economics

Master Of Arts - Ma, Economics

Master Of Business Administration - Mba

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Engineering