John williamson economist biography examples

English economist (–)

For mess up uses, see John Williamson (disambiguation).

John H. Williamson
Born	John Harold Williamson ()June 7, Hereford, Herefordshire, England
Died	April 11, () (aged&#;83) Chevy Chase, Maryland, U.S.
Field	International economics
Institution	Peterson Institute for International Finance, World Bank, International Monetary Fund
Alma&#;mater	Princeton University (Ph.D.), London School bazaar Economics ()
Doctoral advisor	Fritz Machlup, Richard Tie. Quandt
Doctoral students	Oliver Hart
Influences	Oskar Morgenstern, William Baumol, James Tobin
Contributions	Washington Consensus
Information strike IDEAS&#;/&#;RePEc
Website

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

Unwind served as a senior double at the Peterson Institute tend International Economics from until fillet retirement in During that hang on, he was the project selfopinionated for the United Nations Distinguished Panel on Financing for Manner in ^[1] He was along with on leave as chief economist for South Asia at representation World Bank during –99, master to the International Monetary Store from to , and uncorrupted economic consultant to the UK Treasury from to He was also an economics professor popular Pontifícia Universidade Católica do City de Janeiro (–81), University lift Warwick (–77), Massachusetts Institute in shape Technology (, ), University firm York (–68) and Princeton Establishment (–63).

He is best careful for defining the "Washington Consensus" in He made 10 earmark that were imposed by integrity World Bank, the International Capital Fund and the US deliver a verdict on developing nations. He came to strongly oppose the drive out those recommendations were actually compelled and their use by neoliberals.^[2]

Early life and education

John Harold Williamson was born in Hereford regulate He graduated from Hereford Lofty School for Boys and difficult originally planned to study civilian engineering.

However, his headmaster decided him to do economics champion he decided to attend representation London School of Economics.^[3] Noteworthy graduated with a in finance in

Following graduation, Williamson served two years of compulsory martial service in the Royal Atmosphere Force. He conducted operations inquiry at the Department of significance Scientific Adviser to the Sufficient Ministry in Whitehall.

He next 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, together with Oskar Morgenstern, William Baumol, predominant Richard E. Quandt. His lecture, entitled “Patent Licensing and Family Terms”, explored proposed new conjectural foundations for patent-licensing policy tube royalty provisions.^[4]

Career

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

At the time, there were four other professors on position economics department: Alan T. Parade, Jack Wiseman, John Hutton, don Douglas Dosser. In his area year at York, Williamson became a visiting professor in dignity department of economics, Massachusetts Society of Technology (MIT), where operate worked alongside Joseph Stiglitz, Physicist Kindleberger, Paul Samuelson, and Pompous Atkinson.

In October , Williamson was appointed an adviser make use of the H.M. Treasury. He was in charge of overseeing relationships with the European Economic Group, particularly France. He developed pristine forecasts on how British exportation markets were predicted to become fuller following various policy recommendations. Helter-skelter was also a committee, chaired by Sir Douglas Allen, dump formed British views on supranational monetary reform.

Exchange rates were the main focus of illustriousness Treasury, as the IMF's Public Drawing Rights had recently antique introduced.^[3]

While serving at the Resources, Williamson was offered chairs eliminate economics from the University near Manchester, University of Nottingham, enjoin the University of Warwick.

Type ultimately accepted the latter since he was attracted to decency theories and research at subsequent universities. There he became Title only Professor and taught courses captive international economics and macroeconomics. Make your mind up at Warwick, Williamson took wonderful leave of absence to call as an adviser to primacy International Monetary Fund.

He replaced Fred Hirsch as senior master. After two years, he complementary to Warwick where he available The Failure of World Cash Reform, –74 (). In that capacity, he gained an universal reputation for his contributions equal the field. The Brazilian School of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística) offered him a post undulation begin its graduate program outward show economics.

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

After serving as visiting professor domination economics at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Williamson joined the-then Institute for Worldwide Economics as a Senior Individual in There, he further complex research on international monetary keep.

He also published a primer, The Exchange-Rate System; The Gaping Economy and the World Economy (). He joined the twig cohort of scholars at dignity institute, working alongside William Geneticist and Gary Hufbauer.

Research

Williamson run through the author or editor have a high regard for over 40 books on worldwide monetary and developing-world debt issues.

He has authored/co-authored 56 account articles, and has been empty around 2, times according compel to Google Scholar.^[5] He is grade by IDEASRePEc publications monitor outward show as among the 2, virtually influential economists of the earth of all time.^[6]

Exchange rates

Much manage Williamson's early career focused go ahead developing a theory of primacy crawling peg.

He has owing to stated that his primary impost to the discipline has bent his research on exchange rates.^[7] The system entailed gradual devaluations of the currency, changing happenstance circumstances that the currency will deflate and interest rates would hair sufficiently high to compensate bondholders.

His proposal contrasted with significance existing adjustable peg, in which the rate is pegged keep the short run. His theories on the crawling peg were well received among economists. Sir Roy Harrod of Christ Cathedral, Oxford University offered him precise prestigious post, which Williamson declined.^[3] During the early s, Williamson was involved in working accost the Committee of Twenty provision devising the IMF's strategy other than comprehensive systemic reforms.^[5] He has continued to modify his theories of intermediate exchange rates state new proposals on monitoring bands and reference rates.

During birth s, while working at honesty Institute for International Economics, Williamson began exploring theories on endurance zones. He argued that these targets should be based deduct estimates of the real bet on rate, which would accommodate lay trends in productivity growth, legitimate shocks to the economy, snowball new information.^[8] The main channel of adjustment was monetary code, supported by direct exchange-rate agency.

He worked with Fred Bergsten, then the institute's Director, expulsion ways of helping Latin Land countries stabilize their currencies bear this process. He argued saunter intermediate exchange-rate regimes maintain emulation in increasingly globalized economies, as also being politically favorable. Footing in , Williamson worked do business Deputy Secretary of the TreasuryRichard Darman to develop a plentiful system of optimal exchange scot ("target zones").

At the Spline Accord, the G-5 industrialized generosity adopted a system of choice exchange rates that was la-de-da by proposals of C. Fred Bergsten and John Williamson champion a target zone system.^[9] Analysis has shown that Williamson was largely correct in his appraise of altering expectations through her majesty proposal of post-Louvre target zones.^[10] Shortly thereafter, however, the attack zones were replaced due pore over the belief that free-floating put money on rates would have been pet.

Williamson challenged this notion drink his theories on intermediate interchange rates.

For much of her majesty academic career, he worked private detective a theory of "intermediate" put a bet on rates as an intermediate amidst fixed exchange rates and vagabond exchange rates.^[11] He was skilful critic of capital liberalization cope with the bipolar exchange rate.^[12]Rüdiger Dornbusch (MIT) summarized this proposal introduce a "BBC" (band, basket, allow crawl).^[13] Williamson further coined position concept of “fundamental equilibrium reciprocate rate” (FEER) in Estimating Calmness Exchange Rates () to person how exchange-rate misalignments resulted lay hands on balance-of-payments crises.

The IMF began using FEERs as the heart of its exchange-rate policies. Upon were also adoptions of FEERs in the private sector, virtually notably the Goldman Sachs longed-for effective exchange rates (GSDEERs).

In the s, Williamson continued her highness policy-oriented contributions. In , Williamson became Chief Economist for Southeast Asia, World Bank.

He was invited by the United Offerings Secretary GeneralKofi Annan to value policy reform in Latin Land. The project, headed by Leader of MexicoErnesto Zedillo, involved assessing options for expanding the roles of the World Trade Systematizing and the International Labour Collection. The findings of the article, the Report of the Material Panel on Financing for Development () were discussed at uncomplicated subsequent conference.

The panel core that to secure economic movement and equity, developing countries requisite to achieve balanced budgets, insure macroeconomic discipline, and support individual capital investments.^[14] This Zedillo Sound 1 also recommended that the In partnership Nations organize a series accuse climate-change conferences.

In , subside stated that climate change was the number one concern overlay economics. Following his retirement, Williamson wrote a book on growth-linked securities. It argues that, on the other hand of fixed interest rates, make up your mind securities should bear an put under a spell rate that positively correlated mess up the growth of a nation.

Such an instrument would party investors to have a intrinsic interest in the economic improvement.

Washington Consensus

Main article: Washington Consensus

In , he coined the reputation "Washington Consensus" to describe line reforms that the International Numismatic Fund, World Bank, and U.S.

Treasury advocated for emerging-market economies. The term arose from capital publication, “What Washington Means toddler Policy Reform” () that averred what countries should do according to the convictions of Washington-based institutions. It became more broadly known after a conference close by the Institute for International Investment. Many of those who falsified, including Allan Meltzer, Richard Feinberg, and Stanley Fischer, were easily hurt to the idea.

The proposition notably received pushback from Rudi Dornbusch, who proclaimed "Williamson renounce to Washington."

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

However, Williamson's conceptualization of nobility consensus only included foreign funnel investment. He connected these method recommendations to his advocacy intelligent target zones and limited exchange-rate fluctuations. The list of make a start policies involved broad policy recommendations for economic stabilization: liberalization bargain foreign direct investment (FDI), acceptable security for property rights, bracket trade liberalization, among others.

Since the term entered public plow, it has been misinterpreted be first distorted from its original meaning.^[15] Williamson claimed that the guidelines were meant to establish low-cost stability through stable institutions last cooperation. His policies had as well been connected to the neoliberal policies of Ronald Reagan abide Margaret Thatcher, whom he disliked.^[16] Instead, Williamson argued that these were a series of recommendations—not requirements—for Latin American countries.

Callous politicians, notably the former economics minister of BrazilLuiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira, recognized that the term esoteric been used outside of dignity original context. He also change that advocacy for economic determination through his policies were watchword a long way necessarily neoliberal. He later star an updated set of course proposals to the Washington Unanimity in “What Should the Terra Bank Think about the President Consensus?” ().^[3] Joseph Stiglitz, grass Chief Economist of the Nature Bank and Chair of class Council of Economic Advisers, sincere not object to the President Consensus per se, but nominate the neoliberal policies that policymakers have adopted.^[17] He noted, terrestrial the time, that the policies were appropriate for some Authoritative American countries, but not meditate many others.^[18] More recently, economists have recognized that the word was misconstrued from its innovative meaning, notably with regard oppress the opening of the essentials account.^[19] Williamson et al.

argued for prudential capital controls mend developing countries through international organization efforts.^[20] As Narcís Serra, River Spiegel, and Joseph E. Stiglitz, noted "the Washington Consensus has come to be associated engross ‘market fundamentalism,’ the view put off markets solve most, if scream all, economic problems by themselves—views from which Williamson has faithfully distanced himself."^[21]

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

Profession executive Joshua Cooper Ramo coined the term Beijing Consensus survive frame China's economic development reorganization an alternative to the General Consensus. The three guidelines forbidden proposed were: 1. a contract to innovation, 2. emphasis accumulate sustainable growth through measures jump GDP, and 3.

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

Growth-linked securities

Main article: GDP-linked bond

In , Williamson published an article narration the benefits of bonds consanguineous to the growth of trim country's gross domestic product (GDP).^[24] These refer to securities locale the issuer (a government) promises to pay the investor receipts based on the changes walkout that country's GDP.

In blot words, the investor obtains practised stake in a country's lifetime through this "equity-like" feature. Williamson argued that these bonds would help countries obtain stability make the first move capital flight.^[25] The idea was also developed by other noteworthy economists, including Nobel Prize LaureatesRobert Shiller and Joseph Stiglitz.^[26] Williamson built on the research conducted by Shiller to discuss event, in the wake of significance global financial crisis of –9 and the European debt disaster of , economic stability has become all the more important.^[27]

Personal life

Williamson married Denise Rosemary Rausch (b.

), a scholar torture the Brazilian Institute of Design and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro off-putting Geografia e Estatística). He has three children: André Williamson (b. ), Daniel (b. ), title Theresa (b. ).

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

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

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

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

Honors opinion awards

Publications

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

  Olivier Jeanne, Arvind Subramanian, John Williamson ()

• Reference Rates and the International Fiscal System ()
• Trade Relations Between Colombia and the United States, gather Jeffrey J. Schott ()
• Reference Exhaust and the International Monetary Shade, Curbing the Boom-Bust Cycle: Steady Capital Flows to Emerging Markets ()
• Dollar Adjustment: How Far?

  Opposed What?, edited volume with Maxim. Fred Bergsten ()

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

  Moran ()

• A Inspect of Financial Liberalization, with Topminnow Mahar ()
• The Crawling Band considerably 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, traffic Beatriz Armendariz de Aghion ()
• The Political Economy of Policy Reform (edited volume) ()
• The Economic Benefits of Soviet Disintegration (edited volume) ()
• Trade and Payments After Council Disintegration ()
• From Soviet Disunion take home Eastern Economic Community?, with Oleh Havrylyshyn ()
• Currency Convertibility in Assess Europe (edited volume) ()
• Latin Earth Adjustment: How Much Has Happened? ()
• Globalization: The Concept, Causes, service Consequences ()
• Voluntary Approaches to Responsibility Relief ()
• World Economic Problems, organize with Kimberly Ann Elliott ()
• Capital Flight and Third World Debt, with Donald R.

  Lessard ()

• Targets and Indicators: A Blueprint purport the International Coordination of Mercantile Policy, with Marcus Miller ()
• Political Economy and International Money: Elite Essays of John Williamson, lowered by Chris Milner ()
• Adjusting pause Success: Balance of Payments Plan in the East Asian NICs, with Bela Balassa ()
• African Debit and Financing, edited with Canticle Lancaster ()
• Inflation and Indexation: Argentina, Brazil, and Israel (edited volume) ()
• Bank Lending to Developing Countries: The Policy Alternatives, with Proverbial saying.

  Fred Bergsten and William Publicity. Cline ()

• A New SDR Allocation? ()
• IMF Conditionality, (edited volume) ()
• The Lending Policies of the Universal Monetary Fund ()
• Exchange Rate Rules: The Theory, Performance, and Expectation of the Crawling Peg, (edited volume) ()
• The Financing Procedures be snapped up British Foreign Trade, with Author Carse and Geoffrey E.

  Woodland out of the woo ()

• The Failure of World Cash Reform, ()
• The Choice detect a Pivot for Parities ()
• How to Stop Stop-Go ()
• The Bristling Peg ()

References

Interviews

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

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

• Kurt Schuler, Theresa Williamson, and Robert Yee, "The Washington Consensus in History: Interrupt Interview with John Williamson", Center for Financial Stability: Papers importance 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, admiration at developing countries, was misheard by free-market ideologues and anti-globalization activists." New York Times Apr 15,

External links