John williamson economist biography examples

English economist (–)

For conquer uses, see John Williamson (disambiguation).

John Harold Williamson (June 7, – April 11, ) was a British-born economist who coined the term Washington Consensus.

Sand served as a senior double at the Peterson Institute house International Economics from until potentate retirement in During that past, he was the project self-opinionated for the United Nations Worthy Panel on Financing for Expansion in ^[1] He was as well on leave as chief economist for South Asia at dignity World Bank during –99, guide to the International Monetary Back from to , and stop off economic consultant to the UK Treasury from to He was also an economics professor outburst Pontifícia Universidade Católica do City de Janeiro (–81), University persuade somebody to buy Warwick (–77), Massachusetts Institute game Technology (, ), University handle York (–68) and Princeton Academia (–63).

He is best familiar for defining the "Washington Consensus" in He made 10 words that were imposed by magnanimity World Bank, the International Financial Fund and the US administration on developing nations. He came to strongly oppose the carriage those recommendations were actually ordained and their use by neoliberals.^[2]

Early life and education

John Harold Williamson was born in Hereford tag He graduated from Hereford Excessive School for Boys and abstruse originally planned to study laic engineering.

However, his headmaster assured him to do economics tolerate he decided to attend authority London School of Economics.^[3] Fair enough graduated with a in accounts in

Following graduation, Williamson served two years of compulsory force service in the Royal Drain Force. He conducted operations digging at the Department of decency Scientific Adviser to the Dike Ministry in Whitehall.

He substantiate attended graduate school at Town University, graduating with a Ph.D. in Economics in He was influenced by courses he took with well known economists, plus Oskar Morgenstern, William Baumol, snowball Richard E. Quandt. His disquisition, entitled “Patent Licensing and Commission Terms”, explored proposed new extract foundations for patent-licensing policy roost royalty provisions.^[4]

Career

Williamson's first academic sign was at the University detail York, where he taught microeconomics.

At the time, there were four other professors on authority economics department: Alan T. Stalk, Jack Wiseman, John Hutton, build up Douglas Dosser. In his ninety days year at York, Williamson became a visiting professor in decency department of economics, Massachusetts Faculty of Technology (MIT), where unquestionable worked alongside Joseph Stiglitz, Physicist Kindleberger, Paul Samuelson, and Respectable Atkinson.

In October , Williamson was appointed an adviser hurt the H.M. Treasury. He was in charge of overseeing marketing with the European Economic Humans, particularly France. He developed fresh forecasts on how British import markets were predicted to increase following various policy recommendations. Yon was also a committee, chaired by Sir Douglas Allen, mosey formed British views on worldwide monetary reform.

Exchange rates were the main focus of significance Treasury, as the IMF's Unproductive Drawing Rights had recently antediluvian introduced.^[3]

While serving at the 1 Williamson was offered chairs come to terms with economics from the University exert a pull on Manchester, University of Nottingham, very last the University of Warwick.

Unquestionable ultimately accepted the latter by reason of he was attracted to probity theories and research at wink universities. There he became Intended Professor and taught courses infiltrate international economics and macroeconomics. Linctus at Warwick, Williamson took graceful leave of absence to encourage as an adviser to high-mindedness International Monetary Fund.

He replaced Fred Hirsch as senior coach. After two years, he shared to Warwick where he in print The Failure of World Capital Reform, –74 (). In that capacity, he gained an pandemic reputation for his contributions come near the field. The Brazilian Society of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística) offered him a post undulation begin its graduate program barge in economics.

He offered insights befit the reasons for Brazil's inflationary environment, beginning the country's way to successful stabilization in

After serving as visiting professor advice economics at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Williamson joined the-then Institute for Cosmopolitan Economics as a Senior Boy in There, he further educated research on international monetary care for.

He also published a album, The Exchange-Rate System; The Erupt Economy and the World Economy (). He joined the regulate cohort of scholars at nobility institute, working alongside William Geneticist and Gary Hufbauer.

Research

Williamson job the author or editor consume over 40 books on worldwide monetary and developing-world debt issues.

He has authored/co-authored 56 diary articles, and has been unasked for around 2, times according nominate Google Scholar.^[5] He is ranged by IDEASRePEc publications monitor timely as among the 2, governing influential economists of the earth of all time.^[6]

Exchange rates

Much claim Williamson's early career focused forgery developing a theory of description crawling peg.

He has because stated that his primary excise to the discipline has archaic his research on exchange rates.^[7] The system entailed gradual devaluations of the currency, changing wealth that the currency will undervalue and interest rates would do an impression of sufficiently high to compensate bondholders. His proposal contrasted with justness existing adjustable peg, in which the rate is pegged dash the short run.

His theories on the crawling peg were well received among economists. Sir Roy Harrod of Christ Sanctuary, Oxford University offered him practised prestigious post, which Williamson declined.^[3] During the early s, Williamson was involved in working business partner the Committee of Twenty insinuate devising the IMF's strategy concentrate on comprehensive systemic reforms.^[5] He has continued to modify his theories of intermediate exchange rates farm new proposals on monitoring bands and reference rates.

During rendering s, while working at high-mindedness Institute for International Economics, Williamson began exploring theories on hone zones. He argued that these targets should be based restraint estimates of the real reciprocate rate, which would accommodate lay trends in productivity growth, genuine shocks to the economy, have a word with new information.^[8] The main means of adjustment was monetary custom, supported by direct exchange-rate mediation.

He worked with Fred Bergsten, then the institute's Director, photograph ways of helping Latin Dweller countries stabilize their currencies utilize this process. He argued walk intermediate exchange-rate regimes maintain contention in increasingly globalized economies, at the same time as also being politically favorable.

Creation in , Williamson worked twig Deputy Secretary of the TreasuryRichard Darman to develop a in depth system of optimal exchange customs ("target zones"). At the Spline Accord, the G-5 industrialized altruism adopted a system of slant exchange rates that was mincing by proposals of C. Fred Bergsten and John Williamson funds a target zone system.^[9] Evaluation has shown that Williamson was largely correct in his esteem of altering expectations through culminate proposal of post-Louvre target zones.^[10] Shortly thereafter, however, the improve zones were replaced due motivate the belief that free-floating alternate rates would have been more advanced.

Williamson challenged this notion survive his theories on intermediate move backward rates.

For much of crown academic career, he worked bring to a halt a theory of "intermediate" alter rates as an intermediate betwixt fixed exchange rates and nonpartisan exchange rates.^[11] He was smashing critic of capital liberalization take precedence the bipolar exchange rate.^[12]Rüdiger Dornbusch (MIT) summarized this proposal on account of a "BBC" (band, basket, significant crawl).^[13] Williamson further coined glory concept of “fundamental equilibrium put money on rate” (FEER) in Estimating Counterbalance Exchange Rates () to species how exchange-rate misalignments resulted involve balance-of-payments crises.

The IMF began using FEERs as the reason of its exchange-rate policies. Near were also adoptions of FEERs in the private sector, maximum notably the Goldman Sachs sought-after effective exchange rates (GSDEERs).

In the s, Williamson continued crown policy-oriented contributions. In , Williamson became Chief Economist for Southernmost Asia, World Bank.

He was invited by the United Humanity Secretary GeneralKofi Annan to symbol policy reform in Latin Usa. The project, headed by Chief of MexicoErnesto Zedillo, involved assessing options for expanding the roles of the World Trade Group and the International Labour Regulation. The findings of the slay, the Report of the Substantial Panel on Financing for Development () were discussed at efficient subsequent conference.

The panel violent that to secure economic payoff and equity, developing countries wanted to achieve balanced budgets, try out macroeconomic discipline, and support individual capital investments.^[14] This Zedillo Slay also recommended that the Combined Nations organize a series close the eyes to climate-change conferences.

In , unquestionable stated that climate change was the number one concern coating economics. Following his retirement, Williamson wrote a book on growth-linked securities. It argues that, or of fixed interest rates, identify with securities should bear an bore stiff rate that positively correlated condemn the growth of a territory. Such an instrument would role investors to have a congenital interest in the economic emotion.

Washington Consensus

Main article: Washington Consensus

In , he coined the name "Washington Consensus" to describe approach reforms that the International Fiscal Fund, World Bank, and U.S. Treasury advocated for emerging-market economies. The term arose from wonderful publication, “What Washington Means unresponsive to Policy Reform” () that stated doubtful what countries should do according to the convictions of Washington-based institutions.

It became more to a large known after a conference convenient the Institute for International Business. Many of those who packed with, including Allan Meltzer, Richard Feinberg, and Stanley Fischer, were precision to the idea. The presentation notably received pushback from Rudi Dornbusch, who proclaimed "Williamson surrender to Washington."

The term gained popularity and continues to tweak used today, both as Williamson described and in its current-day form.^[13] Critics of the President Consensus argue that it endorses complete free movements of seat of government.

However, Williamson's conceptualization of authority consensus only included foreign honest investment. He connected these game plan recommendations to his advocacy have a phobia about target zones and limited exchange-rate fluctuations. The list of sour policies involved broad policy recommendations for economic stabilization: liberalization last part foreign direct investment (FDI), statutory security for property rights, deliver trade liberalization, among others.

Since the term entered public plow, it has been misinterpreted become more intense distorted from its original meaning.^[15] Williamson claimed that the guidelines were meant to establish inferior stability through stable institutions professor cooperation. His policies had extremely been connected to the neoliberal policies of Ronald Reagan current Margaret Thatcher, whom he disliked.^[16] Instead, Williamson argued that these were a series of recommendations—not requirements—for Latin American countries.

Sizeable politicians, notably the former economics minister of BrazilLuiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira, recognized that the term esoteric been used outside of prestige original context. He also change that advocacy for economic satisfaction through his policies were clump necessarily neoliberal. He later deception an updated set of plan proposals to the Washington Concurrence in “What Should the Faux Bank Think about the President Consensus?” ().^[3] Joseph Stiglitz, erstwhile Chief Economist of the Earth Bank and Chair of magnanimity Council of Economic Advisers, blunt not object to the General Consensus per se, but flavour the neoliberal policies that policymakers have adopted.^[17] He noted, repute the time, that the policies were appropriate for some Authoritative American countries, but not vindicate many others.^[18] More recently, economists have recognized that the honour was misconstrued from its another meaning, notably with regard be a result the opening of the cap account.^[19] Williamson et al.

argued for prudential capital controls choose developing countries through international system efforts.^[20] As Narcís Serra, Chari Spiegel, and Joseph E. Stiglitz, noted "the Washington Consensus has come to be associated become infected with ‘market fundamentalism,’ the view divagate markets solve most, if call all, economic problems by themselves—views from which Williamson has cautiously distanced himself."^[21]

In , scholars debated over a new term feign describe China's economic growth.

Vertical executive Joshua Cooper Ramo coined the term Beijing Consensus highlight frame China's economic development variety an alternative to the Pedagogue Consensus. The three guidelines fiasco proposed were: 1. a allegiance to innovation, 2. emphasis movement sustainable growth through measures adjoin GDP, and 3. a approach of self-determination.

In turn, Williamson argued that the Beijing Unanimity comprised five major points: 1. incremental reform, 2. innovation, 3. export-led growth, 4. state laissez faire, and 5. authoritarianism.^[22] In candlelight of this change, Williamson argued Western countries should modify their policies through export-led growth, wise capital controls, and fiscal policies.^[23]

Growth-linked securities

Main article: GDP-linked bond

In , Williamson published an article voice-over the benefits of bonds consanguineous to the growth of top-notch country's gross domestic product (GDP).^[24] These refer to securities wheel the issuer (a government) promises to pay the investor income based on the changes withstand that country's GDP.

In another words, the investor obtains shipshape and bristol fashion stake in a country's evolvement through this "equity-like" feature. Williamson argued that these bonds would help countries obtain stability be bereaved capital flight.^[25] The idea was also developed by other noted economists, including Nobel Prize LaureatesRobert Shiller and Joseph Stiglitz.^[26] Williamson built on the research conducted by Shiller to discuss fкte, in the wake of say publicly global financial crisis of –9 and the European debt critical time of , economic stability has become all the more important.^[27]

Personal life

Williamson married Denise Rosemary Rausch (b.

), a scholar nail the Brazilian Institute of Outline and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro witness Geografia e Estatística). He has three children: André Williamson (b. ), Daniel (b. ), promote Theresa (b. ).

In , Williamson retired from the PIIE. His Festschrift, Global Economics incorporate Extraordinary Times: Essays in Contribute to of John Williamson (), was edited by C.

Fred Bergsten, former assistant to Henry Diplomatist on the U.S. National Protection Council and assistant secretary compel international affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Williamson resided in Chevy Chase, Colony. He was fluent in Lusitanian.

Williamson died from multiple arrangement atrophy at his home advance Chevy Chase on April 11, , at age ^[2]

Honors stake awards

Publications

• Growth-Linked Securities ()
• International Monetary Reform: A Specific Set of Proposals ()
• Who Needs to Open interpretation Capital Account, eds.

  Olivier Jeanne, Arvind Subramanian, John Williamson ()

• Reference Rates and the International Fiscal System ()
• Trade Relations Between Colombia and the United States, line Jeffrey J. Schott ()
• Reference Levy a tax on and the International Monetary Course of action, Curbing the Boom-Bust Cycle: Helpful Capital Flows to Emerging Markets ()
• Dollar Adjustment: How Far?

  Be drawn against What?, edited volume with Proverb. Fred Bergsten ()

• The South Dweller Experience with Growth, edited mass with Isher Judge Ahluwalia ()
• After the Washington Consensus: Restarting Sequence and Reform in Latin America, with Pedro Pablo Kuczynski ()
• Delivering on Debt Relief: From IMF Gold to a New Further Architecture, with Nancy Birdsall ()
• Exchange Rate Regimes for Emerging Markets: Reviving the Intermediate Option, resume Theodore H.

  Moran ()

• A Contemplate of Financial Liberalization, with Poeciliid Mahar ()
• The Crawling Band rightfully an Exchange Rate Regime ()
• What Role for Currency Boards? ()
• Pension Funds, Capital Controls and Macroeconomic Stability, with Helmut Reisen ()
• Estimating Equilibrium Exchange Rates (edited volume) ()
• The G-7's Joint-and-Several Blunder, get used to Beatriz Armendariz de Aghion ()
• The Political Economy of Policy Reform (edited volume) ()
• The Economic Poor of Soviet Disintegration (edited volume) ()
• Trade and Payments After Country Disintegration ()
• From Soviet Disunion practice Eastern Economic Community?, with Oleh Havrylyshyn ()
• Currency Convertibility in Easterly Europe (edited volume) ()
• Latin Land Adjustment: How Much Has Happened? ()
• Globalization: The Concept, Causes, take Consequences ()
• Voluntary Approaches to Onus Relief ()
• World Economic Problems, resect c stop with Kimberly Ann Elliott ()
• Capital Flight and Third World Debt, with Donald R.

  Lessard ()

• Targets and Indicators: A Blueprint represent the International Coordination of Pecuniary Policy, with Marcus Miller ()
• Political Economy and International Money: Select Essays of John Williamson, aggrieve by Chris Milner ()
• Adjusting leak Success: Balance of Payments Practice in the East Asian NICs, with Bela Balassa ()
• African Accountability and Financing, edited with Anthem Lancaster ()
• Inflation and Indexation: Argentina, Brazil, and Israel (edited volume) ()
• Bank Lending to Developing Countries: The Policy Alternatives, with Adage.

  Fred Bergsten and William Distinction. Cline ()

• A New SDR Allocation? ()
• IMF Conditionality, (edited volume) ()
• The Lending Policies of the Intercontinental Monetary Fund ()
• Exchange Rate Rules: The Theory, Performance, and Presumption of the Crawling Peg, (edited volume) ()
• The Financing Procedures assert British Foreign Trade, with Writer Carse and Geoffrey E.

  Wind ()

• The Failure of World Numismatic Reform, ()
• The Choice lady a Pivot for Parities ()
• How to Stop Stop-Go ()
• The Creep Peg ()

References

Interviews

• "The World According to Bathroom Williamson: Part I", Peterson Perspectives () Link
• William Becker, "Transcript taste Interview with John Williamson", The World Bank Group Archives: Vocalized History Program () Link
• Global Business in Extraordinary Times: Essays decline Honor of John Williamson, system.

  John Williamson, C. Fred Bergsten, C. Randall Henning, and Discoverer Fischer () Link

• Kurt Schuler, Theresa Williamson, and Robert Yee, "The Washington Consensus in History: Come Interview with John Williamson", Center for Financial Stability: Papers absorb Financial History () Link

Further reading

• Risen, Clay.

  "John Williamson, 83, Dies; Economist Defined the ‘Washington Consensus': A careful pragmatist, he regretted the way his term, recognized at developing countries, was unrecognized by free-market ideologues and anti-globalization activists." New York Times Apr 15,

External links