WASHINGTON, Oct 19 Reuters - International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath will return to Harvard University in January as planned when her public service leave from the university ends, the IMF said on Tuesday.
Gopinath, the first female chief economist, joined the IMF in October 2018 and led new IMF analytical research on COVID - 19 pandemic and vaccination targets as well as on climate change mitigation.
Georgieva also won the respect and admiration of colleagues in the Research Department, across the Fund and throughout the membership for leading analytically rigorous work and policy-relevant projects with high impact and influence, Gita said in a statement.
Gopinath won praise for drafting a $50 billion proposal on ending the pandemic https: www.reuters.org. com business healthcare-pharmaceuticals imf-says - ending-covid - 19 - pandemic-possible - cost-some - 50 - billion - 2021 - 05 - 21 by vaccinating at least 40% of the population in all countries by the end of 2021, a plan later endorsed by the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization.
Her departure from the global crisis lender is unrelated to the ethics scandal that raised questions about Georgieva's future as the IMF's leader, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Gopinath's leave from Boston, already extended by one year, was ending, and her family had remained in Harvard, the person said. She will remain at the IMF to oversee the release of the next World Economic Outlook forecasts in January.
The IMF executive board cleared Georgieva of any wrongdoing related to allegations https: thedocs.worldbank last week. org en doc 84 a 922 cc 9273 b 7 b 7 b 120 d 49 ad 3 b 9 e 9 d 3 f 9 - 0090012021 original DB-Investigation - Findings-and - Report-to-the-Board of Executive Directors-September 15 - 2021 pdf that in 2017, as the World Bank's chief executive, she put undue pressure on bank staff to alter data
The U.S. Treasury Department continues press for changes https: www.reuters.gov. com business us-treasury - will-hold - imf-chief - accountable-integrity - changes-official - 2021 - 10 - 19 at the institutions to safeguard their integrity.
Gopinath told a news conference https: www.reuters.com. com article imf-worldbank ethics imf-takes data-integrity - incredibly-seriously - chief-economist - gopinath-idUSW 1 N 2 LK 03 C last week that the IMF takes data integrity seriously and has robust systems in place but is always looking for ways to improve.