By YVONNE TAN
ONE look at Penang-born Professor Danny Quah and you can tell he fits in perfectly with what one already knows about him. He is one of the world’s highly respected economists and head of department and professor of economics at the prestigious London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Quah, a regular contributor to economic journals and highly praised for some of his views on economic growth, is unwaveringly articulate in his mild British accent. In addition, his wave of salt and pepper hair lends him an air of gravitas.
Quah: I try to set an example in doing quality research and speaking out on how I think the world can be improved through my works
Having clearly reaped the benefits of good and solid education, he speaks animatedly about his hopes to extend similar opportunities to others.
“Doing good for society – that drives a lot of what I now do, whether it’s through facilitating excellent higher education and training, or through research and speaking out on how to repair parts of society that have failed,” Quah enthuses.
Giving back
“Where I am (LSE), many of our students come from countries in the world that are rapidly developing but still poor. Providing the best training and education to them is high on my list of priorities.
“Equally important is to figure out how to extend this kind of higher education to individuals in parts of the world that require it desperately, but that cannot come to the LSE,” he tells StarBizWeek in an interview.
Research, which can be academically rigorous and scientifically top-class addresses immediate, real-world problems, Quah says.
“I try to set an example in doing quality research and speaking out on how I think the world can be improved through my works,” he explains.
No doubt, his position at LSE allows him numerous opportunities to travel and share his knowledge and views.
Communicating one’s work
In the early days of his career, Quah recalls that he was regarded as simply a “technical expert”, implying greater focus on technical skills than on communication expertise.
He was determined to “repair” that, which he evidently has.
“I’ve put a lot of effort into that. Over time, I tried to go outside academic economics and sought to engage with stakeholders more generally…holding different views on what constitutes scientific progress, or the concerned public, other professionals, or even interested policy-makers,” he says.
Quah has a string of achievements to his name. He is among other things, specialist adviser to the treasury committee at the UK House of Commons, governor at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and associate editor of the Journal of Economic Growth.
Some of his weightless economy writings, his pet topic, have been translated into over 15 different languages.
The former consultant to the World Bank has published and continues to publish internationally acclaimed works on pertinent areas of economics like income distribution, intellectual property rights, information technology, inflation and business cycles.
For his efforts, Quah has been featured in the Who’s Who in the World and Who’s Who in Economics (1997).
Indeed, not too shabby at all for a Penang boy from Dato Keramat. But Quah, who schooled at the island’s Penang Free School and Francis Light School, exudes humility when asked how he made it and modestly attributes it to the luck factor.
“I was lucky to be pulled out of a small tropical island and given a scholarship to study at a top world university. I was lucky to be given good technical advice and lucky to be taken under the supervision and guidance of the world’s leading economists,” he says.
“Now, I am just so fortunate to be able to engage with the world’s most respected academics and learn about solving important problems, and communicating properly and persuasively.
“I know many individuals who would by any objective criteria be more deserving than me,” he adds.
Penang boy makes good
After excelling in his Sixth Form examinations, Quah left Penang to study engineering at Ivy League Princeton University in New Jersey, US. After brief flings with engineering and physics, he finally decided on economics.
“Economics strikingly provides the kind of tools, training and insight that allows someone to contribute in many different ways: in academics, in business and corporate life, in policy – both local and global.
“Very few academic areas – technical ones at that – let you do that,” he says.
Having studied and worked in six different cities in the US before moving to London to join LSE in the early 1990s, Quah, surprisingly, still has plenty of Malaysia left in him.
“I love char kway teow,” he gushes. An obvious choice really, given his roots.
On a more serious note, he says that Malaysia has come very far since his days here.
“I think Malaysia has become more confident, self-aware and cosmopolitan over the years.
“But it needs to find its place in the world – it was once the world’s largest exporter of rubber, tin, palm oil...but perhaps, now it needs to be something different, perhaps a centre for Islamic finance or a gateway between cultures.”
He says for the country to continue to move forward, it needs to unleash research and creative thinking at all levels - in particular, in higher education. “If it is going to move ahead in knowledge-based economic activity, it has to allow both dissent and creativity,” Quah adds.
Moving to London has made him more aware of and open to developments in the world.
“Issues, problems, and people from the rest of the world show up at LSE routinely, and I think my research and work interests have become global since my moving to the LSE.
“Britain long ago gave up pretending to be a world power. It stopped thinking it would continue to impose on the rest of the world by force of will or otherwise. Instead it is generally accepting of world sentiment and global outcomes, and takes in ideas and people from everywhere else.”
Balancing act
For this former state gymnast, it is pertinent to lead a balanced life.
“I do martial arts which help keep me fit and alert,” he says, adding that he practices the sport with both his teenage sons – Carter and Mason, with whom he shares a very close relationship.
Does he expect the boys to follow in his footsteps? “That is not important. As long as they are happy, I am happy.”
Perhaps more than their love for martial arts, the father and sons also share similar music preferences.
Quah unflinchingly admits that he likes teenybopper music and lists among his favourites “Girlfriend” by Canadian pop punk singer Avril Lavigne.
“The lyrics are really funny, and I am impressed by the fact that she can sing the song in so many languages,” he says, dispelling very quickly the notion that academics prefer “serious music”.
What are his plans given that he has accomplished so much already? “Well, I enjoy my work a lot so I don’t think I will stop doing this for a long time to come.”
Quah says he wouldn’t mind eventually moving back to Malaysia. His parents still live here while all four siblings are in other parts of the globe.
“We have this joke among us – the one first in a country is supposed to shift to a different country when another one moves in – but so far two other brothers and a sister have moved closer to me in London.
“I’m not going anywhere. But of course, the pressure is now on – will I move back to Malaysia?”
Danny Quah
Age: 51
Place of Birth: Penang
Qualifications: Phd in Economics from Harvard University in June 1986 and undergraduate degree in Economics,magna cum laude, Princeton University in June 1980
Career: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (July 1985 - June 1991) - Assistant Professor of Economics LSE (Oct 1991 - present) -Lecturer (Aug 1996 - present) -Professor of Economics (Aug 2006 - present) - Head of Department of Economics
Hobbies: Taekwon-do, reading
Favourite author and book: Neal Stephenson - Snowcrash
Values: Tenacious, Optimistic and Loyal
Animal Sign: Dog
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