International Monetary Fund disclosed that its first woman chief economist Gita Gopinath has decided to resign from her post in the fund in January 2022 and join Harvard. Gopinath became the first female chief economist of IMF when she entered the fund in October 2018. She headed new IMF analytical research on the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination targets as well as on climate change alleviation.
Gita has earned a reputation and appreciation from colleagues in the Research Department, across the Fund, and throughout the membership for managing analytically arduous work and policy-relevant projects with high impression and impact. She has also worked vigorously with other IMF departments to join with policymakers, academics, and other stakeholders on a new analytical approach to assist states to respond to international capital flows via the Integrated Policy Framework.
Gita has intended to return to Harvard University’s Economics Department as scheduled when her public service leave expires. Harvard University had expanded Ms. Gopinath’s leave of absence on an extraordinary basis by one year, which has permitted her to work as Chief Economist at the IMF for three years. Gita is looking forward to serving IMF for the remaining few months before her return to Harvard.
Ms. Gopinath is a US national and overseas citizen of India. Her research has been published in many top economics journals. Before her election as IMF Chief Economist, she served as the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics, in the economics department of Harvard. Gita has strived tirelessly for IMF and her contributions to the fund are extraordinary.