Prof. Dr. Cielito Habito

Dr. Habito is a Professor of Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University, where he is also currently a Senior Fellow and former Director of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development (2001-2012). He headed the recently- concluded USAID Trade-Related Assistance for Development (TRADE) Project, and is also Chairman of Brain Trust Inc. His op- ed column “No Free Lunch” appears twice weekly in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. His professional career has spanned work in government, academe, business sector and civil society. He served in the Cabinet of former President Fidel V. Ramos throughout his presidency in 1992-1998, as Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning, heading the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). In 1998, he was elected Chair of the Sixth Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in New York. Before joining government, he was Professor and Chair at the Department of Economics of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB). He had also worked as Research Consultant at the World Bank, Teaching Fellow at Harvard University, Visiting Research Fellow at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies in Kyoto University, Visiting Fellow of the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo, and Visiting Professor at the Asian Institute of Management and De La Salle Graduate School of Business. He has served as Independent Director in First Gen, Manila Water Company, Metrobank and Philsteel Holdings, among others. The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, USAID, AusAID, JICA, UNICEF and other development partners have tapped his expertise to advise the government of the Philippines and of other countries in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. His civil society involvements include Operation Compassion Philippines, Knights of Columbus, Manila Water Foundation, Galing Pook Foundation, and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Philippines, among others. He holds a Ph.D. and Master of Arts in Economics from Harvard University, Master of Economics from the University of New England (Australia), and Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Major in Agricultural Economics), Summa cum Laude from the University of the Philippines.