The Bank of England has named an Imperial College professor as the successor to the most hawkish member of the monetary policy committee.
Professor Jonathan Haskel, the head of the economics department at Imperial College's business school, will replace Ian McCafferty, who is standing down after six years.
Mr McCafferty was one of the two members of the committee who most frequently voted to put interest rates up over the past year, voting for a rise in six of the past eight meetings.
He was frequently one of just two of the nine committee members to vote for higher rates, with Michael Saunders the other hawk on the committee, and in total voted to increase rates in more than a quarter of his MPC meetings.
Professor Haskel's specialist area of research is the ability of traditional economists to understand the economy in the digital age, and whether the data produced by economists in areas such as productivity levels in an economy are reflecting the reality of new technology.
Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England and chairman of the committee, said: "I am delighted to welcome Jonathan Haskel to the monetary policy committee and am very much looking forward to working with him.
"His broad academic experience and the depth of his knowledge on productivity and innovation will be hugely valuable to the committee as we seek to promote the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary stability."
Professor Haskel will replace Mr McCafferty when his second term ends on 31 August.
He said: "I’m truly honoured to be nominated to the MPC and to follow Ian McCafferty who has been such a dedicated and hard-working member over the last six years, especially with his work visiting schools. I look forward to contributing to the MPC’s vital role in maintaining the UK’s price stability and communicating its thinking."
The Bank of England said eight women and 19 men applied for the role, with four women and one man making the shortlist, before Professor Haskel was appointed.
There is currently just one female member of the monetary policy committee, Silvana Tenreyro, a professor at the London School of Economics.
david.thorpe@ft.com
