Economics: Who should lead the IMF?

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The question is:

Who should lead the IMF?

May 20th 2011 by M.J. | The Economist

On May 18th Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund, adding that he would need all his energy to fight charges that he sexually assaulted a hotel maid in New York. The IMF will need strong leadership as it continues to help euro-area countries deal with massive debt problems. Some think it is time the institution picked a non-European boss.

This week we ask: "Who should lead the IMF?"

Guest contributions:

The next managing director of the IMF should definitely not be a European

Luigi Zingales wrote on May 20th 2011, 9:13 GMT

WHEN Dominique Strauss-Kahn was appointed managing director of the International Monetary Fund in the Fall of 2007 many developing countries objected. Their opposition was not to the person, but to the tradition that wanted a European at the head of the IMF and an American at the head of the World Bank.

It is time abandon the ridiculous idea that the head of the IMF should come from Europe.

Stephen King wrote on May 20th 2011, 9:18 GMT

APPARENTLY, we must have a European because we are in the middle of a European debt crisis. That, at least, is Angela Merkel's argument.

Leaders at the IMF must not have conflicts of interest

Ajay Shah wrote on May 20th 2011, 9:54 GMT

ANGELA Merkel said: “Of course, developing nations are within their rights in the medium term to occupy the post of either IMF head or World Bank chief...But I think that in the current situation, with serious problems with the euro and the IMF strongly involved, there is a lot in favor of a European candidate being put forward.”

Non-Europeans might be better suited to head the World Bank

Lant Pritchett wrote on May 20th 2011, 9:55 GMT

MY VIEW is that bookmakers have got the probabilities roughly right, and have listed a top flight set of candidates. My money would be on Kemal Dervis as he has the right experience and qualifications and Turkey might be considered close enough to Europe to satisfy Europeans.

European candidates are at a great disadvantage

Paul Seabright wrote on May 20th 2011, 10:01 GMT

IT HAS been suggested by many politicians and commentators in Europe that the magnitude of Europe's sovereign debt crisis means that even if the traditional European monopoly on the IMF should be ended, it is essential that the next IMF head be a European, one known to and influential among existing European political leaders.

It is easier to start with who the new boss should not be

Roberto Perotti wrote on May 20th 2011, 17:47 GMT

IT IS EASIER to start with who the new boss should not be. The IMF is heavily involved in the Greek negotiations. It will become even more involved in the euro area if and when Ireland, Portugal and maybe Spain or Italy present similarly urgent problems.

Fraga should be considered one of the top contenders

Michael Pettis wrote on May 23rd 2011, 10:41 GMT

TO ME one of the best and most obvious candidates to be the next IMF head seems to be missing from the Economist's list of candidates. As governor of the Brazilian central bank during and after the 1999 crisis, Arminio Fraga accomplished what many people predicted was impossible.

A technocrat, not a politician

Gilles Saint-Paul wrote on May 23rd 2011, 10:47 GMT

MY ANSWER is: not a politician. The last two directors were politicians who were holding the job while in the opposition party of their own country, and who were supposed to resume their political careers after their mandate at the IMF.

The argument that the Eurocrisis needs a European is wrong

Harold James wrote on May 23rd 2011, 10:53 GMT

IT SHOULD definitely not be a West European. There is no doubt about Madame Lagarde's competence, but too many political figures have taken the post in the recent past, and the shifting geography of the world's economy requires a more representative figure.

Lagarde seems unstoppable. But she is not the perfect choice

Suman Bery wrote on May 25th 2011, 14:37 GMT

AS OF THE time of this writing, it appears that the succession battle is all but over, and that Christine Lagarde is the candidate with near unstoppable momentum. So rather than speculate on who is the best candidate, or even the most probable, it is more instructive to parse what we have seen take place over the last few days, and reflect on its implications.

Featured guest

Laurence Kotlikoff

William Fairfield Warren Professor at Boston University

United States

Contributions: 34

Laurence J. Kotlikoff is a William Fairfield Warren Professor at Boston University, a Professor of Economics at Boston University, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and President of Economic Security Planning, Inc., a company specializing in financial planning software. Professor Kotlikoff publishes extensively in newspapers, and magazines on issues of financial reform, personal finance, taxes, Social Security, healthcare, deficits, generational accounting, pensions, saving, and insurance. His most recent book is Jimmy Stewart Is Dead.

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