Pierre‑Olivier Gourinchas steps down as the IMF’s Chief Economist
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Article summary
Gourinchas returns to academia as the Fund undergoes reviews of some of its main activities.
On 1 May, the IMF announced that Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas was leaving his post as the Fund’s Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department to return to academia at the University of California, Berkeley, effective on 1 July. Gourinchas is a familiar face for those following the IMF, publicly presenting the results of one of the Fund’s flagship publications, the World Economic Outlook, at the Spring and Annual Meetings.
Gourinchas has left the Fund at a key moment, as the institution is currently undergoing reviews of some of its main activities, including the Review of Program Design and Conditionality (see Dispatch Springs 2026) and the Comprehensive Surveillance Review (see Observer Spring 2026). IMF conditionality has been strongly criticised by civil society, UN bodies and academics for undermining states’ capacity to fulfil their human rights obligations, exacerbating inequalities, and disproportionately harming the poorest and most marginalised, among other detrimental impacts (see Dispatch Annuals 2025; Observer Summer 2025; Briefing, Brace for impact: Social and gender inequality in IMF surveillance).
Federico Sibaja, of international civil society organisation Recourse, noted, “IMF programme design has repeatedly overlooked the institution’s own research in recent years, despite evidence demonstrating the adverse effects of austerity, underinvestment in public services, and inadequate social protection on macroeconomic stability. It is therefore essential that the next Chief Economist ensures the IMF engages meaningfully with heterodox economic perspectives and that its policy work is guided by rigorous evidence rather than the political interests of its most influential member countries.”
On 7th July the IMF announced Silvana Tenreyro will replace Gourinchas as the Fund’s Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department (RES), effective on 10 August. Tenreyro is currently James E. Meade Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, where she has been on the faculty since 2004.
