The IMF’s chief economist, Gita Gopinath, will quit her job in January next year and return to the prestigious Harvard University, according to the global financial institution.
The 49-year-old prominent Indian-American economist joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as chief economist in January 2019.
Read: India Must Maintain Vaccination Rate To Maintain Steady Growth: Gita Gopinath. from the IMF
She was the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University when she joined the Washington-based global lender.
IMF executive director Kristalina Georgieva announced on Tuesday that the search for Gopinath’s successor would begin shortly.
“Gita’s contribution to the Fund and to our membership has been really remarkable – very simple, its impact on the work of the IMF has been enormous,” said Georgieva.
Gopinath, born in Mysuru, is the first ever chief economist at the IMF.
Harvard University had exceptionally extended her leave of absence by one year, which meant she was chief economist at the IMF for three years.
“She made history as the Fund’s first female chief economist, and we benefited immensely from her keen intellect and deep understanding of international financial and macroeconomics as we navigated the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
Read: Indian economy grows 9.5% this year, 8.5% in 2022: IMF
The IMF said that as part of its many significant initiatives, Gopinath co-authored the “Pandemic Paper” to End the COVID-19 Pandemic, which sets globally recognized goals for vaccinating the world.
That work led to the creation of the Multilateral Task Force, composed of the leadership of the IMF, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization to help end the pandemic, and the establishment of a working group with vaccine manufacturers to identify trade barriers, supply bottlenecks and the accelerated delivery of vaccines to low and lower middle income countries, the IMF said in a statement.
Among her other important accomplishments, Gopinath helped set up a climate change team within the IMF to analyze, among other things, optimal climate protection measures.
“I would like to express my personal appreciation to Gita for her impressive contributions, her ever-wise advice, her dedication to the mission of the Research Department and the Fund in general, and her widely recognized inclusive and accessible approach to colleagues and staff,” added Georgieva.
Born to Malaysian parents in December 1971, Gopinath completed her school education in Kolkata and graduated from the Lady Shri Ram College of Commerce in Delhi. She holds a Masters degree from the Delhi School of Economics and the University of Washington.
Gopinath received his PhD in Economics from Princeton University in 2001 and was led by Kenneth Rogoff, Ben Bernanke, and Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas.
In 2001 she moved to the University of Chicago as an assistant professor before moving to Harvard in 2005. In 2010 she became tenure professor there.
She is the third woman in Harvard history to be a full professor in the prestigious economics department and the first Indian to hold the position since Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen.
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