Ian Macfarlane (economist)
Ian Macfarlane | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 22, 1946 Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Economist, central bank official |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Known for | Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (1996–2006) |
Ian John Macfarlane (born 22 June 1946) is a distinguished Australian economist and former central bank official. His early professional journey took him through Melbourne, Sydney, Oxford, and Paris before he joined the Reserve Bank of Australia in 1979. He advanced to serve as Governor from 1996 until 2006. Following his tenure at the RBA, he pursued roles as a corporate director, economic advisor, and writer.
Education and early career
Relocating to Melbourne at the age of three, Macfarlane completed his schooling at Melbourne High School and later attended Monash University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Economics with Honors in 1968 and a Master of Economics in 1971. During his master's studies, he also held a teaching position at Monash. In 1970, he commenced a brief contract with the Reserve Bank aimed at developing Australia's inaugural econometric model. Subsequently, he worked at the University of Oxford between 1971 and 1972 and then with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris until 1978.
Reserve Bank of Australia
Upon returning to Australia in 1979, Macfarlane joined the Reserve Bank’s Research Department and was promoted to deputy manager by 1981. In 1983, shortly before the Australian dollar was floated, he transitioned to the Financial Markets Department, gaining extensive experience in money markets, bond trading, and foreign exchange operations. By 1988, he was appointed Assistant Governor (Economic), leading the Economics Department.
He was named Deputy Governor in 1992 during the Keating government and elevated to Governor in 1996 under the Howard government. At the start of his governorship, he formalized an inflation-targeting framework with Treasurer Peter Costello. Throughout his ten-year leadership, Australia experienced solid economic expansion alongside low inflation despite external pressures such as the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the global downturn in 2001, and a housing market surge in 2003. Treasurer Costello commended Macfarlane as "an exceptionally successful governor," recognizing his period as one of Australia's most effective economic management eras. Prime Minister John Howard referred to him as "the stand-out economic official" of his administration.
Post-Reserve Bank career
Following his retirement from the RBA, Macfarlane held directorships at three prominent publicly listed companies: Woolworths (2007–2015), Leighton Holdings (2007–2013), and ANZ Bank (2007–2016). Additionally, he served on the International Advisory Boards for Goldman Sachs (2007–2016) and the China Banking Regulatory Commission (2011–2014), while also maintaining a board position at the Lowy Institute for International Policy from 2004 to 2017.
Soon after leaving the RBA, he presented the 2006 Boyer Lectures, which were later published under the title The Search for Stability, combining economic analysis with historical perspectives.
In 2019, Macfarlane added to his authorship with Ten Remarkable Australians, a series of biographical profiles highlighting influential Australians born before Federation who achieved global recognition during the early twentieth century.
Awards and honours
| Elected Fellow, Academy of Social Sciences of Australia | 1998 |
| Centenary Medal, Australian Government | 2001 |
| Central Bank Governor of the Year, Eurocurrency magazine | 2002 |
| Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) | 2004 |
| Honorary Doctor of Science in Economics, University of Sydney | 2004 |
| Honorary Doctor of Letters, Macquarie University | 2005 |
| Honorary Doctor of Commerce, University of Melbourne | 2006 |
| Honorary Doctor of Laws, Monash University | 2007 |
| Honorary Doctor of Science, University of New South Wales | 2008 |
Personal
In 1970, Macfarlane wed Barbara Heather Payne. Together, they are parents to two children and grandparents to six grandchildren.
External links
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- Australian economists
- Governors of the Reserve Bank of Australia
- Monash University alumni
- Academic staff of Monash University
- Goldman Sachs people
- Economics educators
- 1946 births
- Living people
- People educated at Melbourne High School
- Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
- Companions of the Order of Australia
- Businesspeople from Melbourne
- Businesspeople from Sydney