Stephen D. Williamson named 2018 recipient of The Bank of Canada's Fellowship Award

March 23, 2018

Western University's Stephen D. Williamson has been named a 2018 recipient of The Bank of Canada's Fellowship Award.

Stephen D. Williamson, professor in the Department of Economics, has been named a 2018 recipient of The Bank of Canada's Fellowship Award.

Recognized as an international expert in macroeconomics and monetary policy, Williamson holds Western's Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Central Banking, which aims to support work in the area of monetary policy. His most recent research is focused on better understanding conventional and unconventional monetary policy, how monetary policy should be conducted in a low interest rate environment and re-examining the relationship between monetary and fiscal policy.

The Bank Fellowship Award provides financial support to leading academics who are widely recognized for their expertise and excellence in areas important to the Bank's core functions, and whose research contributes to the development of knowledge and research capabilities in those areas. The Fellowship Award provides annual funding of up to $90,000 for a term of up to five years, and recipients are professors in tenure or tenure-track positions at Canadian universities.

"The Bank of Canada is proud to recognize Professor Stephen D. Williamson, this year's Fellowship Award recipient, for his outstanding contributions to research in all four of the Bank's core functions," says Bank of Canada Governor Stephen S. Poloz. "His work is helping to expand knowledge in these fields. Moreover, his commitment to mentoring students and emerging researchers is fostering a new generation of thought leaders in central banking - not just in Canada, but around the world."

In 2016, Western received a generous $2-million endowed gift from Stephen A. Jarislowsky and the Jarislowsky Foundation, matched by Western, to establish the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Central Banking with the aim to encourage excellence in teaching, mentorship and research in areas essential to central bank policy and decision-making.

"The Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Central Banking was instrumental in attracting Stephen Williamson to Western University and back to Canada," says Audra Bowlus, Chair of Western's Department of Economics. "Having Stephen be part of the Bank of Canada's prestigious Fellowship Program will further strengthen our ties to the Bank through interactions regarding monetary policy and the training of the next generation of policy makers."