Philip Lowe (born 1961) is an Australian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

who is the current Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, having succeeded Glenn Stevens on 18 September 2016. He was previously deputy governor under Stevens from February 2012 to September 2016.

Early life and education

Lowe was born in

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, as the eldest of five children in the family. He attended St Michael's High School and Trinity Senior High School. Lowe later moved to Sydney and was hired by the RBA straight out of high school. He was initially employed as a clerical worker in 1980 at the age of 17, while completing his undergraduate commerce degree at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

by attending night classes. He was awarded first-class honours and the University Medal on his graduation in 1985. Lowe later completed a doctorate in 1994 at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(MIT), with

Paul Krugman Paul Robin Krugman ( ; born February 28, 1953) is an American economist, who is Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and a columnist for ''The New York Times''. In 2008, Krugman was ...

as his adviser.

Career

In 1997, Lowe was appointed head of the RBA's Economic Research Department. He later headed the bank's Financial Stability Department (from 1999 to 2000), the Domestic Markets Department (from 2002 to 2003), and the Economic Analysis Department (from 2003 to 2004). From 2000 to 2002, Lowe worked at the

Bank for International Settlements The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks that "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks". The BIS carries out its work thr ...

in Switzerland, as head of its Financial Institutions and Infrastructure Division. He was made Assistant Governor (Financial System) at the RBA in 2004, and Assistant Governor (Economic) in 2009, eventually becoming Deputy Governor in 2012. In May 2016,

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for th ...

(the

Treasurer of Australia The Treasurer of Australia (or Federal Treasurer) is a high ranking official and senior minister of the Crown in the Government of Australia who is the head of the Ministry of the Treasury which is responsible for government expenditure and ...

) announced that Lowe would succeed Glenn Stevens at the head of the RBA at the end of his term in September 2016.

Personal life

Lowe is married and has three children. He met his wife, Jocelyn Parker, who works at the

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government and the prudential regulator of the Australian financial services industry. APRA was established on 1 July 1998 in response to the re ...

, while working at the RBA.Meet Philip Lowe, the new RBA Governor
Retrieved 14 July 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Philip 1958 births Living people Australian economists Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni People from Wagga Wagga University of New South Wales alumni Governors of the Reserve Bank of Australia