Gita Gopinath
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Bibliographic details
- Published: September 5, 2025
Roles and responsibilities at the IMF
- First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from January 2022–August 2025.
- Oversaw the work of staff and represented the Fund at multilateral forums such as the G7 and G20.
- Maintained high-level contacts with member governments and Board members, the media, and other institutions.
- Led the Fund’s work on multilateral surveillance and related policies, including on monetary and fiscal policies, debt, and international trade.
- Oversaw research and flagship publications; guided work on systemic country surveillance and on large programs, such as those for Argentina and Ukraine.
- Previously served as Chief Economist of the Fund from 2019-22 (Economic Counsellor of the Fund and Director of its Research Department).
Key contributions and initiatives
- As Chief Economist, helmed thirteen releases of the World Economic Outlook, including forecasts of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy.
- Co-authored the “Pandemic Paper” that set globally endorsed targets for vaccinating the world and led to:
- Creation of the Multilateral Task Force made up of the leadership of the IMF, World Bank, WTO, and WHO to help end the pandemic.
- Establishment of a working group with vaccine manufacturers to identify trade barriers, supply bottlenecks, and accelerate delivery of vaccines to low- and lower-middle income countries.
- Helped develop the Integrated Policy Framework as a new analytical approach to help countries respond to international capital flows.
- Helped set up a Climate Change team inside the IMF to analyze optimal climate mitigation policies.
Academic and research background
- John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and of Economics at Harvard University’s economics department (2005-22).
- Assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business (2001-05).
- Research focuses on International Finance and Macroeconomics; widely cited and published in many top economics journals.
- Authored numerous research articles on exchange rates, trade and investment, international financial crises, monetary policy, debt, and emerging market crises.
- Co-editor of the current Handbook of International Economics; earlier co-editor of the American Economic Review and managing editor of the Review of Economic Studies.
- Former co-director of the International Finance and Macroeconomics program at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); former member of the economic advisory panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Honors, awards, and recognition
- Elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Econometric Society; member of the Group of Thirty.
- 2021 recognitions and awards:
- Financial Times named her among the ‘25 most influential women of the year’.
- International Economic Association named her the Schumpeter-Haberler Distinguished Fellow.
- Agricultural & Applied Economics Association recognized her with the John Kenneth Galbraith Award.
- Carnegie Corporation named her among ‘Great (American) Immigrants’.
- Other recognitions:
- Named among the Bloomberg ‘50 people who defined 2019’.
- Named a ‘Top Global Thinker’ by Foreign Policy.
- Included among the ‘Women who Broke Major Barriers to Become Firsts' by Time Magazine.
- Recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (the highest honor conferred on overseas Indians by the Government of India).
- Recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Washington.
- Named one of the IMF’s ‘top 25 economists under 45’ in 2014.
- Chosen as one of the ‘25 Indians to Watch’ by the Financial Times in 2012.
- Selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2011.
Education and nationality
- Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University in 2001.
- B.A. from Lady Shri Ram College.
- M.A. degrees from Delhi School of Economics and the University of Washington.
- Born in India; U.S. national and an overseas citizen of India.