IMF
announced on Thursday that Gita Gopinath, their chief
economist, would be taking over as the No. 2 official, from Geoffrey Okamoto. Notably,
Gopinath was the first woman to serve as the chief economist. The recent move
comes as a surprise since she announced in October that she planned to return
to her tenured position at Harvard University, after three years of public
service.

Now,
Gopinath will be serving under IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva, marking the
first time two women are in the top leadership roles. Georgieva has shown her confidence
in Gopinath saying she is the right person to take up this role at the right time. Since
the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in an increase in scope and scale of macroeconomic
challenges in member countries, Gopinath has the necessary expertise as one of
the world’s foremost macroeconomists, to take up this leadership role.

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As
the first deputy managing director, Gopinath will take the lead on surveillance
and other related policies, oversee flagship publications, research, and help ensure the highest quality standards when it comes to fund publication. Prior to her new
role, Gopinath led the research department through the pandemic era. She also
weathered through the 2020 recession, which has been the worst decline since
the Great Depression. Having taught economics at Harvard since 2005, Gopinath
joined the Washington-based money lending institution in 2019.

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While
it remains to be seen how Gopinath settles into her new position, it should be
noted that the IMF head, Georgieva, came under fire when an investigation
concluded that she had manipulated data to favour China, while holding a senior
position in the World Bank. She denied any wrongdoing on her part, and the IMF
board agreed that the investigation was inconclusive. Nonetheless, this scandal has put the microscope on IMF’s forecasts and data. It has also posed a challenge to
the institution to protect its credibility and reputation.