MANILA, Aug. 6 -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Wednesday that Shang-Jin Wei, a professor of finance and economics at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business, has started work as its new chief economist.

The Manila-based lender said in a statement that Wei will serve as its spokesman on economic issues and head its Economics and Research Department, which leads policy research on development challenges facing Asia and the Pacific.

"I look forward to working with governments and academia across the region and beyond on research that will contribute to the continued growth and development of the Asia and the Pacific," said Wei.

The ADB's new chief economist has a long and distinguished career in academia and international finance and trade. Before joining ADB, he was the N.T. Wang Chair and Director of the Chazen Institute of International Business at Columbia University, director of the U.S. National Bureau of Economic's Research's working group on China's economy and a research fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research.

He also served as an assistant director and chief of division at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) where he led the IMF's policy research and advised on issues in international trade, investment and globalization. He was the IMF Chief of Mission to Myanmar in 2004.

Wei, who was born in China and is a national of the United States, earned a PhD in Economics and a Master's degree in Finance from the University of California Berkeley. He also holds a Master 's degree in Economics from Pennsylvania State University, and a Bachelor's degree in World Economy from Fudan University in China.