Maitland MacFarlan, Associate

Maitland MacFarlan spent most of his professional career overseas, working as an economist for the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, at the OECD in Paris, and as a university lecturer in Michigan.  While at the IMF, Maitland worked first on economic projections and analytical reports published in the World Economic Outlook. He then moved to the IMF’s African Department, where he was a team member and mission chief for several countries in west and southern Africa – most of which had macroeconomic adjustment programmes with the Fund. From 2007 to 2010, he lived in Malawi as the Fund’s resident representative in that country. At the OECD, Maitland prepared cross-country comparisons and analyses of member countries’ health and social transfer systems, and then took part in economic assessments of a number of countries in central and eastern Europe that were preparing for OECD membership.

Earlier in his career, Maitland worked in the NZ Treasury, where he was closely involved with public sector labour market reforms and with the development of the first Policy Targets Agreement under the then new Reserve Bank Act.

After returning to New Zealand in 2012, Maitland worked as a contractor to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand– preparing background notes for the Bank on a wide range of monetary policy and governance issues. He also authored a report (later published in the RBNZ Bulletin) on policy responses to, and lessons learned from, house price collapses around the globe.  He has also been active in a range of volunteer activities, including participating in Habitat for Humanity projects in Nepal, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Maitland has a PhD (Economics) from Duke University, North Carolina and an MA (Ist Class Hons) from the University of Auckland.