The Director of the Bank of Israel Research Department, Prof. Nathan Sussman, announced the appointment of Dr. Sigal Ribon, head of the Current Monetary Analysis Unit in the Monetary Policy Division, to head the Monetary Policy Division in the Research Department. Dr. Ribon will replace Dr. Edward (Akiva) Offenbacher, who is being appointed Senior Advisor for International Research Relations in the Research Department.
Dr. Sigal Ribon holds a BA and an MA, both cum laude, in Economics and Statistics, and a Ph.D. in Economics, all from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She began her professional career at the Bank of Israel in 1986 as a research assistant in the Research Department, and over the years she served as a senior economist in the field of monetary analysis. Since 2008, she has served as head of the Current Monetary Analysis Unit in the Research Department.
As part of her positions in the Research Department, Dr. Ribon has dealt with issues concerning the conduct of monetary policy, and has published studies regarding monetary policy transmission mechanisms and the effect of monetary policy on the economy, prices, inflation, and the housing market. As Head of the Current Monetary Analysis Unit, she was involved in various teams at the Bank preparing the research input for the formulation of monetary policy.
Prof. Nathan Sussman, Director of the Research Department, said that, “Sigal brings to the position tremendous knowledge and many years of experience in theoretical and practical research in the field of monetary policy. I wish her tremendous success in the position. I take this opportunity to wish Edward (Akiva) Offenbacher success in his new position, and to thank him for many years during which he contributed, through his various positions, to shaping monetary policy at the Bank of Israel.”