Glenn Stevens

Glenn Robert Stevens (born 23 January 1958) is an Australian economist and the current Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Biography

Early life and education

Stevens was born in Sydney in 1958. He was educated at the University of Sydney from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Economics with first class honours in 1979. He subsequently obtained a Master's degree from the University of Western Ontario.

Career

After holding various positions in the Bank prior to 1990, he accepted a position as Visiting Scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Subsequently, Stevens held positions as Head of the Economic Analysis Department, the Head of the International Department, and was Assistant Governor (Economic) from 1996 to 2001, prior to his appointment as Deputy Governor in December 2001.

RBA Governor

He replaced Ian Macfarlane who retired in September 2006, after 10 years as governor of the Reserve. Stevens is committed to the style of operation of the Reserve established under Ian Macfarlane; the independence of the Reserve, the 2-3% inflation target over the course of the economic cycle, and the accountability of the Reserve when the decision is made to change interest rates.

Early in 2008 Stevens announced an official interest rate rise by 50 basis points, predicting ongoing inflation pressures. This drew strong criticism from The Daily Telegraph newspaper.^[1][2][3][4] As the Global financial crisis of 2008–2009 progressed, Stevens announced large cuts to the official rate. By the end of 2008, the Reserve Bank board, chaired by Stevens, had cut interest rates a total of 300 basis points, returning them to mid-2002 levels.^[5]

By August 2013, interest rates had been cut to 2.5%, with the RBA monthly meeting minutes citing domestic economic growth below long term trends, the relatively high value of the Australian dollar, and the "subdued" labour market as the justification for the historically low^[6] official interest rates.^[7]

Personal life

Stevens is a professing Christian, and plays the guitar at his local Baptist Church. Stevens once quoted "If you're a Christian, God has given you certain capabilities to do a job, to earn a living. The Bible teaches that you should do that as if you were doing that for Him, because you are, and that's my attitude".^[8]

He has spent most of his life living in the Sutherland Shire. He is also a recreational pilot with Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) and Command Instrument Rating (CIR). He owns a Piper PA-34 Seneca.

References

External links

• Biographical Summary of Glenn Stevens on the Reserve Bank of Australia's website
• Transcript of Glenn Stevens' speech on economic conditions and prospects 2006 Address to the Australian Business Economists and the Economic Society of Australia (NSW Branch) Annual Forecasting Conference Dinner.