Dr. Yoki Okawa is an economist at the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO). He is the desk economist for Lao PDR and a sector specialist on Cambodia.

Before joining AMRO in 2021, Dr. Okawa worked at the World Bank for five years. His extensive experience in macro surveillance includes the primary authorship of a regional outlook section in the World Bank’s flagship report Global Economic Prospects and engaging with country authorities in the region. His background includes a wide range of macroeconomic topics such as productivity, potential growth, informality, the financial crisis, and investment. Dr. Okawa has published research papers on international macroeconomics and international portfolio choice, including the Journal of International Economics. He co-authored two books, on the informal economy and productivity.

Prior to joining the World Bank, he contributed to the World Economic Outlook from the International Monetary Fund and the Southeast Asian Economic Outlook from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Dr. Okawa holds a Ph.D. in Economics with a specialization in International Finance from the University of Virginia in the United States and a Bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from the University of Tokyo in Japan.