Roland Rajah

Lowy Institute Lead Economist; Director, Indo-Pacific Development Centre
Areas of expertise

International economic policy; Asia Pacific economies; macroeconomics; economic development; aid and development finance; globalisation; geo-economics.  

Roland Rajah
Biography
Publications

Roland Rajah is Director of the Indo-Pacific Development Centre, a dedicated policy research centre within the Lowy Institute. The Centre is committed to producing fresh policy insights and ideas on the most pressing economic development challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region — principally focusing on the emerging and developing economies of Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands and South Asia. He also serves as the Lowy Institute’s Lead Economist, a position he has held since joining the Institute in 2017.

Roland directs the overall work program of the Indo-Pacific Development Centre across its key thematic pillars of post-Covid growth and development, globalisation and regional integration, climate change and development, technology and digital economy, aid and development finance, and geoeconomics. The Centre also houses the Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map project, which provides the world’s most comprehensive data tracking of all official aid and other development finance flows to the Pacific Islands.

A development economist by background, Roland has extensive experience working across both emerging Asia and the small island developing states of the Pacific. He has previously worked for the Asian Development Bank, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and the Reserve Bank of Australia. Roland holds a master’s degree in economics from the Australian National University, where he was awarded the Helen Hughes Prize in International and Development Economics. He also serves on the board of the Cambodia Development Resource Institute, one of Southeast Asia’s leading independent policy research think tanks.

COVIDcast: Emerging markets, the pandemic, and the role of the US dollar
Podcasts
COVIDcast: Emerging markets, the pandemic, and the role of the US dollar
Roland Rajah, Director of the International Economy Program, sits down with Brad Setser, Senior Fellow for International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations, to discuss the…
Mobilizing the Indo-Pacific infrastructure response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia
Reports
Mobilizing the Indo-Pacific infrastructure response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia
A policy brief by Roland Rajah, Director of the International Economy Program at the Lowy Institute, published by The Brookings Institution.
COVIDcast Episode 9: Covid‑19 and the oil price collapse
COVIDcast Episode 9: Covid‑19 and the oil price collapse
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world.
COVIDcast Episode 9: COVID-19 and the oil price collapse
Podcasts
COVIDcast Episode 9: COVID-19 and the oil price collapse
In COVIDcast Episode 9, Roland Rajah, Director, International Economy Program, sits down with Rachel Ziemba, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, and…
Helping Indonesia to help ourselves
Commentary
Helping Indonesia to help ourselves
Originally published in the Australian Financial Review.
COVIDcast Episode 7: The cost to the international economy
COVIDcast Episode 7: The cost to the international economy
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world.
COVIDcast Episode 7: COVID-19 and the International Economy
Podcasts
COVIDcast Episode 7: COVID-19 and the International Economy
COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. In Episode 7, Roland Rajah sits down with…
How much is too much? Covid loans for the Pacific
How much is too much? Covid loans for the Pacific
Not all regional nations are overloaded by debt. There is some scope to lend sustainably.
Australia should offer Indonesia crisis insurance ­– quickly
Australia should offer Indonesia crisis insurance ­– quickly
With little to no cost at home, a multi-billion “standby” loan will help restore economic confidence in a big neighbour.
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