Atlanta Fed Chief Sees Promising, Complex Growth in Emerging Economies

Dennis Lockhart

The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta called the rising prosperity of emerging economies "good news for the world" in a speech in Atlanta on May 17 at the "Globalization and Emerging Economies Conference 2008."

Dennis Lockhart, one of the conference’s keynote speakers, said that the greater complexity of international economic relations made simple categories of "developing" and "developed" nations less relevant.

"My point is that the reality of the world is much more a spectrum than a two-class world of neat distinctions," he said.

The days of when "the United States sneezes, the world catches pneumonia," have been replaced by "when the United States gets a cold, the world gets a cough and sniffles."

The domestic growth in many emerging countries, he added, will moderate the impact of slower U.S. gross domestic product growth on the global economy.

Mr. Lockhart said that he favored separating the members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation with non-members as a demarcation line between “developed” and “developing” countries. While considering the division imperfect, he said he found it "useful."

"Indeed, most emerging economies have a modern sector within a society that has somewhat wider income disparity than our own, somewhat less developed infrastructure and somewhat less mature institutions and rule of law," he said.

He congratulated the conference hosts on their title for the event, saying that he prefers "emerging economies" to many other terms.

The Young Professionals group of the Southern Center for International Studies organized the event, which drew more than 100 attendees to Emory University's Goizueta Business School.

 "Emerging markets is the most general and inclusive term, but I must confess some frustration with much of the jargon used to describe today's global commercial landscape," Mr. Lockhart said.

He recalled that over the course of his career, he has witnessed the use of the terms "third world," "less developed countries (LDCs)," "developing countries" as well as "emerging markets.”

"None of these is quite satisfactory," he added.

With “the shift of so much manufacturing to so-called emerging economies, referring to established European and North American economies as ‘industrialized’ seems out of date," he said.

"Indeed, a characteristic of advanced economies today is a developed service sector, especially financial services. Manufacturing in advanced economies is increasingly an assembly of components from industrialized non-OECD countries."

For a copy of Mr. Lockhart’s speech, visit www.frbatlanta.org.

 

 

Korean Consul Honors Asian-American Foundation at Gala

Drummers from the Korean-American School of Atlanta performed on stage.

Some 350 guests attended the sixth annual gala dinner of the Asian-American Heritage Foundation held at the Cobb Galleria Centre on May 10, which featured performances by students from the Korean-American School of Atlanta.

Kwang-Jae Lee, South Korea’s consul general in Atlanta, congratulated the organization, which is composed of 17 charter members, on its efforts to promote awareness of and appreciation for the historical contributions of citizens of Asian-American heritage.

Mr. Lee presented Soon Hee Paik, the foundation’s current chair and a native of Korea, with a $500 check from the consulate made out to the organization.

Dancers added to the festive atmosphere of the event.

The choir from Korean-American School of Atlanta and student drummers, also from the school, performed.

Charles Krautler, director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, was the keynote speaker, and Benjamin DeCosta, general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, received an award for his personal involvement with the local Asian communities.

Awards also were presented to representatives of the following companies and organizations: AirTran Airways Inc., Home Depot Inc., Turner Broadcasting System Inc., Coca-Cola Co., Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., Hartsfield-Jackson, the Center for Pan Asian Community Services Inc., the Hong Kong Association, the Korean-American School of Atlanta and Leadership Atlanta.

To learn more about the foundation, go to www.asianheritage.org/About.htm. 

International Education Center Names New Executive Director

Suzanna Jemsby

The Center for the Advancement and Study of International Education, or CASIE, has announced that Atlanta International School administrator Suzanna Jemsby is to take over as its executive director effective Jan. 1, 2009.

The center, located on the international school’s campus, promotes foreign language and international programs in U.S. elementary and high schools.

Ms. Jemsby, head of the international school’s high school for the past six years, is to replace Alex Hornsby, who will continue as a senior consultant at the center.

Robert Robinson, chair of the center’s board of trustees, said that Ms. Jemsby’s knowledge of language education and involvement with the International Baccalaureate program made her an appealing choice.

“CASIE has grown tremendously as an organization and we wanted an executive director who would be a leader, capitalize on our growth and bring new ideas to the table," he said.

Ms. Jemsby said that she plans to continue growing the center and promoting international education on a broad basis.

“One of my goals is to create the understanding that an international education could and should be accessible to everyone,” she said.

Ms. Jemsby has a master’s degree in modern and medieval languages from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and is fluent in English, German, and French.  She also speaks some Italian and Swedish.

For more information, visit www.casieonline.org.