New Delhi: Gita Gopinath, the International Monetary Fund's Deputy Managing Director, has stated that she will retire to academia and rejoin Harvard University as a professor in the Economics Department.
According to the Harvard Gazette, Gopinath will join the Harvard faculty this fall, following her return from a long-term public service sabbatical.
Gopinath said in a post on X that he is returning to his academic origins. She stated that she looks forward to continue pushing the frontiers of study in international finance and macroeconomics to address global issues, as well as teaching the future generation of economists.
Gopinath initially arrived on the Harvard campus as a visiting professor in 2005. She will take over the newly established position of Gregory and Ania Coffey Professor of Economics at Harvard on September 1, with a new set of course offerings available next spring.
Gopinath worked as the chief economist from 2019 until 2022, before being promoted to First Deputy Managing Director (FDMD) in January 2022 and retiring in August 2025.
According to David M. Cutler, Dean of Social Science and Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics, Gita's academic research has significantly influenced our knowledge of exchange rates, international capital flows, and the global financial structure.
Cutler noted that having her back solidifies our position as a leading institution for international macroeconomics. She is also a terrific teacher and intellectual partner. We are eager to welcome her home.
Gita Gopinath, the IMF's chief economist, oversaw the research department and was in charge of the World Economic Outlook report, which advises economic policy decisions in various countries, according to The Harvard Gazette.
She also coauthored a pandemic plan that expedited worldwide collaboration on COVID19 vaccine access and led the development of an Integrated Policy Framework that now serves as the foundation for the IMF's policy advice to nations on their response to international capital flows.
Gita's efforts were also appreciated by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. According to Georgieva, "[Gita's] analytical rigour was combined with useful policy counsel to the membership during an extremely difficult time, which included the pandemic, conflicts, the cost-of-living crisis, and significant changes in the global trading system. "
