Gita Gopinath, a noted Harvard professor of economics, has been Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since October 2018 New Delhi: Gita Gopinath, a noted Harvard professor of economics, has been Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since October 2018. Born in Kolkata, Gopinath, was elected to her new role as the first woman to occupy the top post at the global lender. The 47-year-old pursued her PhD in Economics from Princeton University (1996-2001). She has authored close to 40 research articles on exchange rates, trade and investment, international financial crises, monetary policy, debt, and emerging market crises.
- She was born in Calcutta (1971) and grew up in India.
- She is a US citizen and an Overseas Citizen of India.
- Gita is the second Indian after former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan to hold the position.
- Gopinath is the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and of Economics at Harvard University.
- She is the third woman and the second Indian after Nobel laureate Amartya Sen to be made a permanent member of the economics department at Harvard.
- She is an Economic Adviser to the Chief Minister of Kerala state (India).
- Gopinath is a co-director of the International Finance and Macroeconomics program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She is also a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. She is also a member of the economic advisory panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
- The 47-year-old was born to TV Gopinath, a farmer and entrepreneur, and VC Vijayalakshmi from Kannur.
- She is married to Iqbal Dhaliwal, who is the executive director at Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Gopinath completed her Bachelor's in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi. She did her Masters in Economics from Delhi School of Economics (1992-94) and University of Washington (1994-96). She did her PhD in Economics from Princeton University (1996-2001).
