Gita Gopinath, an esteemed economist, was recently awarded the Bernhard Harms Prize by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy during the Geoeconomics Conference at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. Moritz Schularick, the institute’s president, hailed her as a leading figure in international finance and macroeconomics, while Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan, a professor at the University of Maryland, commended her as both a superb scholar and influential policy maker.
Currently serving as the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Gopinath previously held the position of the fund’s chief economist. In this role, she played a pivotal role in guiding the global economy through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gopinath not only spearheaded a bold plan to expedite global vaccination efforts but also advocated tirelessly for enhanced international cooperation.
Simultaneously, she co-led the effort to reshape the IMF’s strategy for managing international capital flows, resulting in the groundbreaking “Integrated Policy Framework.” This framework has set a new standard in policy analysis and government guidance worldwide.
Gopinath had a distinguished academic career, being a professor at Harvard University from 2005 to 2022 and previously an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business before her time at the IMF.
Gopinath holds a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University and completed her undergraduate studies at Lady Shri Ram College. She also earned master’s degrees from the Delhi School of Economics and the University of Washington. Expressing her gratitude for the Bernhard Harms Prize, Gopinath emphasized the importance of scholarship in international economics and global relations, especially during a time of increasing global divergence.
