Quick Facts
Biography
Karnit Flug (Hebrew: קרנית פלוג; born January 9, 1955) is a Polish-born Israeli economist. She holds the position of Governor of the Central Bank of Israel since November 2013. She is the first female Governor of the Bank of Israel.
Early life
Karnit Flug was born in 1955 in Poland. She immigrated to Israel with her parents at the age of three. Her mother worked in Israel as a pediatrician.
She obtained her MA in Economics at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1980, and received a Ph.D in Economics at Columbia University in New York City in 1985, with thesis titled "Government policies in a general equilibrium model of international trade and human capital".
She is fluent in Hebrew and Polish and also speaks English and Spanish.
Career
Flug joined the Bank of Israel in 1988 and worked for a few years in the bank's research department. From 1994 to 1996, she worked at the Inter-American Development Bank as a research economist, and returned to the Bank of Israel in 1997. She was appointed deputy governor of the bank in 2011, and served as acting governor since July 2013, following Stanley Fischer's resignation. On October 20, 2013, it was decided to appoint her next governor of the bank, and in November 13, 2013, she was officially assumed office.
Personal life
Flug is married (second marriage) to Saul Lach, professor at the department of Economics at Hebrew University, and has two children. They live in Jerusalem.
Publications
- Karnit Flug, Nitsa (Kaliner) Kasir and Ofer Gur, "Absorption of Soviet Immigrants into the Israeli Labor Market: Occupational Substitution and Retention", in: "Immigrants: Liability or Asset?", Naomi Carmon (editor), p. 279-378, 1993.
- Karnit Flug and Nitsa (Kaliner) Kasir, "Labor Costs in Israeli Industry", Economic Review, Vol. 67, p. 21-44, 1993.
- Karnit Flug and Nitsa (Kaliner) Kasir, "The Absorption in the Labor Market of Immigrants from the CIS - the Short Run" The Economy Quarterly, 1995.
- Karnit Flug, Nitsa (Kaliner) Kasir and Ofer Gur, "The Absorption of Soviet Immigrants into the Labour Market: Aspects of Occupational Substitution and Retention", in: "Russian Jews on Three Continents – Migration and Resettlement", Lewin-Epstein, Ro'u and Ritterbans (editors), p. 433-470, 1997.
- Karnit Flug and Nitsa (Kaliner) Kasir,"Poverty and Employment and the Gulf between them", Israel Economic Review, Vol. 1, p. 55-80, 2003.
- Karnit Flug and Nitsa (Kaliner) Kasir, "The Single Parent Law, Labor Supply and Poverty", Israel Economic Review, Vol. 4, NO. 1, April, p. 59-110, 2006.