Columbia Economists Who Seek to Lead the World Bank

I taught at Columbia University from 1993 to 2000 and I have several friends at the World Bank, so I'm always interested in news articles about Columbia University economists who seek to lead the World Bank!  This article delivers.  My esteemed ex-colleague Professor Jagdish Bhagwati has a great quote at the end of the article.   Here it is.

"Bhagwati said that Ocampo’s decision to withdraw his candidacy is symptomatic of a larger problem among Columbia faculty members, citing Earth Institute Director’s Jeffrey Sachs’ brief foray into the race for World Bank president.

“The belated withdrawal of Mr. Ocampo from the race, coming on the heels of the withdrawal of Professor Jeffrey Sachs from his self-generated candidacy which glossed over his policy failures such as shock therapy, unfortunately raises serious questions about Columbia faculty’s probity in matters of global governance and globalization,” Bhagwati said in an email."

Tomorrow at UCLA, there will be a leading Columbia Economist speaking at our applied econ seminar. I do not believe that Professor Chiappori  has sought to lead the World Bank.  But, I could be wrong!