Member of CASE Advisory Council nominated Chief Economist of IMF
Simon Johnson, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and member of the CASE Advisory Council since 2004, was nominated as the new chief economist of the International Monetary Fund by Rodrigo Rato, the Fund's managing director. Prof. Johnson will join the IMF in late March.
In making this announcement, Mr. de Rato said: "After careful consideration, I have concluded that Mr. Simon Johnson clearly stands out as possessing the right blend of knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to successfully lead the Fund's Research Department and to excel in the role of our chief economist.
"Simon Johnson is a recognized leader in original economic research relevant to the Fund, including the study of the causes and effects of economic crises, as well as development and poverty issues. He has a proven ability to conceptualize a strong policy-oriented agenda, with an enduring interest in global economic policy issues and a substantial level of expertise relevant to developing, emerging market, and advanced economies. He is a strategic thinker and has demonstrated managerial leadership. It is also important to note that he has the ability to communicate complex issues to policy makers and the general public."
Mr. Johnson, 44, a citizen of both the U.S. and U.K., is currently the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology. He holds a PhD in Economics from MIT, having previously received degrees from the Universities of Manchester and Oxford. His academic background includes positions at Harvard and Duke universities. Mr. Johnson also has hands-on experience with management and policy issues, including running a research center in Russia and providing policy advice in a number of emerging market and developing countries. He has also served in an advisory capacity on a number of public sector bodies and think tanks in advanced economies, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He held a two-year appointment as Assistant Director in the IMF's Research Department in 2004-2006.
