Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund
The chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is also the economic counsellor and director of the fund's Research Department and is responsible for providing independent advice to the fund on its policy issues, integrating ideas of the research in the design of policies, conveying these ideas to the policymakers inside and outside the fund and managing all research done at IMF. The chief economist is a member of the Senior Leadership of the IMF.
"The job is one of the most prestigious in the field, and has been held by some of the most prominent academic researchers in international economics." The chief economist is part of the senior leadership team, directly advises the managing director, and leads about a hundred Ph.D. economists in the Research Department.
The Research Department publishes working papers on highly relevant policy and research issues in international economics; produces a number of reports including the widely tracked annual World Economic Outlook; organizes conferences including the annual research conference that brings together top economists and policymakers; and publishes the peer reviewed journal IMF Economic Review.
The position has been held by the following:
| Name | Term | University at appointment |
|---|---|---|
| Edward Bernstein | 1946–1958 | |
| Jacques Polak | 1958–1980 | |
| William Hood | 1980–1987 | |
| Jacob Frenkel | 1987–1991 | University of Chicago |
| Michael Mussa | August 1991 – 29 June 2001 | University of Chicago |
| Kenneth Rogoff | August 2001 – September 2003 | Harvard University |
| Raghuram Rajan | September 2003 – January 2007 | University of Chicago |
| Simon Johnson | March 2007 – 31 August 2008 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Olivier Blanchard | 1 September 2008 – 8 September 2015 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Maurice Obstfeld | 8 September 2015 – 31 December 2018 | University of California, Berkeley |
| Gita Gopinath | 1 January 2019 – 21 January 2022 | Harvard University |
| Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas | 24 January 2022 – present | University of California, Berkeley |