Washington:
The World Bank on Wednesday named Kaushik Basu, a Cornell University
professor and former Indian official, as the institution's new chief
economist and senior vice president.
Basu, an Indian national, most recently served as chief economic
adviser of the India's Ministry of Finance while on leave from Cornell,
where he was an economics professor and the C. Marks Professor of
International Studies.
"Having worked in a Ministry of Finance, in addition to his impressive
academic achievements, Kaushik is uniquely suited to help us offer
evidence-based solutions and advice to client countries and provide
innovative excellence in leading our development research," said World
Bank President Jim Yong Kim.
"Kaushik brings first-hand experience from a developing country and will be a terrific asset to the institution," said Kim.
Basu, 60, holds a doctorate from the London School of Economics and
founded the Centre for Development Economics at the Delhi School of
Economics in 1992.
He has also served as chairman of Cornell's economics department,
director of its Center for Analytic Economics, and headed the Program on
Comparative Economic Development, the World Bank said in a statement.
In May 2008 the president of India awarded Basu one of the country's
highest civilian awards, the Padma Bhushan, for "distinguished service
of high order."
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