Robert Zymek — CV

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Robert Zymek — CV

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Bibliographic details

• Authors: Robert Zymek

Biography

Robert Zymek is Deputy Division Chief in the Open-Economy Macroeconomics Division of the IMF Research Department. Prior to joining the IMF, he was an Assistant Professor with tenure ("Lecturer") at the University of Edinburgh, and an Economic Adviser at HM Treasury. He obtained his PhD from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and completed his undergraduate education at the University of Cambridge. Robert's research interests are International Economics and Macroeconomics. His research has been published in the Review of Economic Studies, Journal of International Economics, European Economic Review, and IMF Economic Review, among others.

Profile

Education

• PhD in Economics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain, 2011

• MSc in Economics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain, 2006

• BA (MA) in Economics, University of Cambridge, UK, 2005

Previous Experience

• 2026 - present, Deputy Division Chief, Open-Economy Macroeconomics Division (OE), Research Department, IMF

• 2025 - 2026, Senior Economist, Development Macroeconomics Division (DM), Research Department, IMF

• 2023 - 2025, Economist, Development Macroeconomics Division (DM), Research Department, IMF

• 2021 - 2023, Economist, East I Division (E1), Africa Department, IMF

• 2020 - 2021, Economic Adviser, Global Economics Team (GE), International Directorate, HM Treasury

• 2011 - 2021, Lecturer, School of Economics, University of Edinburgh

Referee Activities

• American Economic Review, Journal of the European Economic Association, Economic Journal, American Economic Review: Insights, Journal of International Economics, International Economic Review, Journal of International Money and Finance, Journal of Development Economics, IMF Economic Review, Economic Letters, Macroeconomic Dynamics, Empirical Economics, Review of International Economics, International Journal of Central Banking, Journal of Economic Surveys, The Canadian Geographer

Other Professional Positions

• 2016 - present, Research Affiliate, CESifo Network, CESifo Munich

Country work or Mission Assignment

• South Sudan (2021-23)

IMF Occasional Papers, Pamphlets, and Special Issues Papers

• People's Republic of China: Service Sector Productivity, Allocative Efficiency and Innovation, Selected Issues, IMF Country Report No. 2024/276, August 2024

IMF Publications

IMF Books and Working Papers

• Unbalanced Trade 2.0, Working Paper No. 2025/191 , September 26, 2025

• Bilateral Trade in Services: Insights from A New Research Dataset, Working Paper No. 2025/163 , August 15, 2025

• Europe’s Shift to EVs Amid Intensifying Global Competition, Working Paper No. 2024/218 , October 11, 2024

• Divided We Fall: Differential Exposure to Geopolitical Fragmentation in Trade, Working Paper No. 2023/270 , December 22, 2023

• Trade Integration in Africa: Unleashing the Continent's Potential in a Changing World, Departmental Paper No 2023/003 , May 5, 2023

• Bilateral Trade Imbalances, Working Paper No. 2022/090 , May 13, 2022

F&D articles

• Sharing the Road (joint with J. Yao)

• Back to Basics: Total Factor Productivity

Other Published Materials

• IMF World Economic Outlook, April 2024, Chapter 3: Slowdown in Global Medium-Term Growth: What Will It Take to Turn the Tide?

Non-IMF Publications

Publications in Journals (Refereed)

• Bilateral Trade in Services: Insights from a New Research Dataset, IMF Economic Review, forthcoming (joint with N. Li, S. Meleshchuk, Q. Yin and D. Zhao)

• Divided We Fall: Differential Exposure to Geopolitical Fragmentation in Trade, Canadian Journal of Economics, forthcoming (joint with S. Hakobyan and S. Meleshchuk)

• Bilateral Trade Imbalances, Review of Economic Studies, vol. 91(3), pp. 1537-1583 (joint with A. Cuñat)

• The (Structural) Gravity of Epidemics, European Economic Review, vol. 144, May 2022, (joint with A. Cuñat)

• Friends Without Benefits? New EMU Members and the “Euro Effect” on Trade, Journal of International Money and Finance, vol. 83, pp. 75-92, May 2018 (joint with A. Mika)

• Specialisation Patterns, GDP Correlations and External Balances, CESifo Economic Studies, vol. 63(2), pp. 141-161, Jun. 2017 (joint with A. Cuñat)

• Factor Proportions and the Growth of World Trade, Journal of International Economics, vol. 95(1), pp. 42-53, Jan. 2015

• Banks’ Liquidity Buffers and the Role of Liquidity Regulation, Journal of Financial Services Research, vol. 48(3), pp. 215-234, Dec. 2015 (joint with C. Bonner and I. van Lelyveld)

• Sovereign Default, International Lending and Trade, IMF Economic Review, vol. 60(3), pp. 365-394, Sept. 2012

Other Published Materials

• Geoeconomic Fragmentation in Services? Evidence from a New Database, Ch. 3 in The State of Globalisation, R. Baldwin and M. Ruta eds., pp. 29-36, CEPR, June 2025 (joint with N. Li)

• Global Value Chains, Volatility and Safe Openness: Is Trade A Double-Edged Sword?, Bank of England Financial Stability Paper No. 46, Jan. 2021 (joint with L. D’Aguanno, O. Davies, A. Dogan, R. Freeman, S. Lloyd, D. Reinhardt and R. Sajedi)

• UK Regional Productivity Differences: An Evidence Review, Industrial Strategy Council, Feb. 2020 (joint with B. Jones)

• Wealth of the Nation: Scotland’s Productivity Challenge, David Hume Institute, Sept. 2018 (joint with J.-F. Kelly and M. Mitchell)

• Review of Europe Isn’t Working (L. Elliott and D. Atkinson, 2016), Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 55(1), pp. 227-229, Mar. 2017

Content in this bundle

• CHAPTER 3 SLOWDOWN IN gLObaL MEDIUM-TERM gROWTH: WHaT WILL IT TaKE TO TURN THE TIDE?
  • CHAPTER 3 SLOWDOWN IN gLObaL MEDIUM-TERM gROWTH: WHaT WILL IT TaKE TO TURN THE TIDE? (Markdown version)
  • CHAPTER 3 SLOWDOWN IN gLObaL MEDIUM-TERM gROWTH: WHaT WILL IT TaKE TO TURN THE TIDE? (PDF)