Gita Gopinath – First female Chief Economist at IMF

By Rekha Bhattacharjee

Prof Gita Gopinath a professor in Harvard since 2015, 46, is the first woman and the second Indian American to serve in IMF as Chief Economist. The Chief Economist from 2003-6 was Prof Raghuram Rajan from University of Chicago.

IMF’s Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement on October 1s, “Gita is one of the world’s outstanding economists, with impeccable academic credentials, proven track record of intellectual leadership, and extensive international experience.”

In 2014, Gita Gopinath was named one of   the top 25 economists under 45 by IMF.

A product of Delhi School of Economics Gita pursued her post graduation in the US.

She received PhD from Princeton in 2001. She was an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business and soon left for Harvard receiving a tenure there.

Prof. Gopinath is the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and of Economics at Harvard University.

Gita Gopinath has had extensive experience behind her having served as an Economic Adviser and Consultants to large Financial Institutions and governments. She has been an informal adviser to the Government of India.

Married to Iqbal Singh Dhaiwal head of Abdul Latif Jamal Poverty Action Lab at MIT the couple have a 14 year old son. A Co-Editor of American Economic Review and current Handbook of International Economics, she has been a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Bank of New York. Gita makes us all proud, our first Indian born woman as IMF’s Chief Economist.

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