Former Bear Stearns executive Carmen Reinhart named as chief economist of World Bank on Wednesday, he is a financial crisis expert who also currently assists on advisory boards of the IMF and the New York Federal Reserve.
In a statement, World Bank President David Malpass said “Reinhart’s experience and insights would prove invaluable as the coronavirus pandemic heaps economic pain on developing countries.” Carmen starts at the Bank on June 15.
In 2009, Reinhart, together with economist Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University published a book titled, This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly.
The book aims for stricter regulations and an early-warning system to make the alarm about financial bubbles. It discusses policymakers, central bankers, and investors incline to ignore the tell-tale signs of a financial bubble.
In March, in an article Reinhart wrote on the pandemic, she said: “Clearly, this is a ‘whatever-it-takes’ moment for large-scale, outside-the-box fiscal and monetary policies.”
Reinhart teaches international economics at the Harvard Kennedy School and has a PhD from Columbia University. She has also worked at the International Monetary Fund, the former Bear Stearns investment bank and Peterson Institute for International Economics and the University of Maryland.
Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director tweeted Reinhart congratulations, calling her “a great choice, especially at this time of crisis.”
Gita Gopinath, IMF chief economist, in a separate tweet, added: “@carmenmreinhart is an extraordinary economist with deep expertise in crises, debt, capital flows, from a current and historical perspective.”
Scott Morris a former US Treasury official, said, “She’s obviously well suited to the moment,” he is now a senior fellow with the Centre for Global Development. “The Bank could be entering uncharted territory in the months ahead, so it’s good to have her intellectual firepower on board.”
The Bank added Reinhart’s proficiency includes sovereign debt crises and international capital flows.