IMF appoints Gita Gopinath its first woman chief economist: All you need to know about advisor to Kerala government

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday appointed Indian-American Gita Gopinath the organisation’s chief economist. She will take over as the economic counsellor and director of the IMF’s Research Department — a post that former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan also held — from December after  current chief economist Maurice Obstfeld retires in December. Gopinath is the second Indian and first woman appointed to head the research department, which publishes the IMF’s flagship publication, the World Economic Outlook, which is one of the most read documents containing in-depth analyses of the global economy and the developments and prospects in the sector. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Gopinath is “one of the world’s outstanding economists, with impeccable academic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership, a d extensive international experience”. “All this makes her exceptionally well-placed to lead our Research Department at this important juncture. I am delighted to name such a talented figure as our chief economist,” she said.

There has been an outpouring of congratulatory messages in India since IMF announced Gopinath’s appointment. BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav said , “India is proud of this achievement of another of its daughters.” Former finance minister P Chidambaram tweeted he was “proud that an Indian-origin outstanding economist” was appointed the chief economist of the IMF. “A worthy successor to Raghuram Rajan. Congratulations!” he said. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, to whom  Gopinath serves as a financial advisor , also congratulated her.

Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said Gopinath’s “elevation to such a coveted position shall fuel women’s empowerment efforts”. “We expect her to guide this premier institution towards meeting the needs of the developing economies,” she added.

Trinamool Congress leader, however,  Derek O’Brien chose to highlight what Gopinath had one said on demonetisation. “In an interview, she once said that not one global economist of standing will say demonetisation was a good idea. All cash is not black money, and all cash is not corruption!” he tweeted. He would be noteworthy to mention that both the IMF chief economists from India, Gopinath and Rajan, did not hold back on their criticism of the Indian government’s move to declare Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes as illegal tender in NBovember 2016. [caption id=“attachment_2923654” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Harvard economist Gita Gopinath[/caption] But who is Gita Gopinath? The 46-year-old old specialises in macroeconomics and trade. As an academic, she has serves as an economic adviser to a number of large financial institutions and governments. Gopinath is currently the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University in Boston, with her research focused on international finance and macroeconomics. Before joining Harvard, she was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business. Born in Mysuru in 1971, Gopinath was raised in India, but is now a citizen of the United States and an overseas citizen of India. Her father TV Gopinath is the son of TC Govindan Nambiar, a relative of noted Communist party leader TC Narayanan Nambiar, and PV Lakshmi Amma, who is related to stalwart of Indian Communist party AK Gopalan. Her husband Iqbal Singh Dhaliwal is the executive director at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at the department of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She received her PhD in economics from Princeton University in 2001 after earning a bachelor’s degree from University of Delhi’s Lady Shri Ram College and master’s degrees from both the Delhi School of Economics and the University of Washington. Gopinath has also been a member of the Indian Ministry of Finance’s “eminent persons advisory group” on G20-related matters. Earlier in n 2018, she was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2017, she received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Washington. The IMF had named her one of the top 25 economists under 45 in 2014. In 2011, the  World Economic Forum had chosen her as a Young Global Leader. She had also served on the editorial board of the IMF Economic Review from 2009 to 2013. She has also been a visiting scholar with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, a member of the Economic Advisory Panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the managing editor of the Review of Economic Studies.  Gopinath’s research The economist has authored around 40 research articles on exchange rates, trade and investment, international financial crises, monetary policy, debt, and emerging market crises. She is currently the co-editor of the American Economic Review and co-director of the International Finance and Macroeconomics Programme at American nonprofit National Bureau of Economic Research . She is also the co-editor of the current Handbook of International Economics, along with former IMF chief economist Kenneth Rogoff. Her research is in the field of international macroeconomics focused on issues related to international price-setting, exchange rate pass-through, emerging market business cycles and crisis. Her work has been published in the American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of International Economics and Review of Economics and Statistics.