New Delhi: Harvard professor Gita Gopinath has been appointed as chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).“Gita is one of the world’s outstanding economists, with impeccable academic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership, and extensive international experience,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said.In an interview last year, Gopinath had said that the demonetisation move undertaken by the Narendra Modi government was not a good idea.“I don’t think I know a single macro economist who thinks that this was a good idea. I view the GST very favourably because that is a real reform. It is a way of formalising the economy. It is a very effective way of ensuring tax compliance and makes it harder to earn black money. But obviously it is going to take some time to smooth out; the implementation again has been disruptive. Which makes me wish they hadn’t done demonetisation is then you could have used that time to have brought in GST smoothly,” she had said.Gita Gopinath is currently the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University. She has also served as a member of the “eminent persons advisory group” on G20 matters for India’s finance ministry, her profile on the Harvard University website says. Before joining Harvard, she was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business.Gopinath, who is a US citizen, received her Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University in 2001. In 2018, she was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. A year before that, she received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Washington.
