The Economist endorses Okonjo-Iweala for World Bank presidency
The Economist staff announced its endorsement for Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the position of World Bank president in an editorial on Saturday, calling the upcoming World Bank board election a "golden opportunity for the rest of the world to show Barack Obama the meaning of meritocracy."
The head of the World Bank should hold experience in government, finance, development and economics, the editorial said. The Economist praised Okonjo-Iweala for having experience in all of these areas, adding that Colombia’s former finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo only has a "couple" of the necessary attributes. The editorial criticized College President Jim Yong Kim, whom President Barack Obama nominated for the position on March 23, for having past experience in "at most one" of the outlined areas.
Despite his backing from the Bank's most significant shareholder, the United States, the editorial urges the board to reject Kim's nomination. The Economist staff said they found Kim's views on development problematic based on an introduction he wrote for a 2000 book titled "Dying for Growth." Kim commended Cuba for making social equity a priority and implicated "the quest for growth in GDP and corporate profits" for worsening the lives of millions around the world. The staff claimed that this outlook conflicts with the mission of the World Bank, which is to promote economic growth in developing countries.
"The Bank promotes growth because growth helps the poor," the editorial said. "If Mr. Kim disagrees, he should stick to medicine."
By contrast, orthodox economist Okonjo-Iweala has a "CV of a formidable public economist," the editorial said.
The Economist staff calls for the end of a "shabby tradition" defined by an American heading the World Bank and a European leading the International Monetary Fund. It recommends that Ocampo gracefully remove himself from the race, and encourages the world to support Okonjo-Iweala.
"[I]f there is one thing the world has discovered about poverty reduction in the past 15 years, it is that development is not something rich countries do to poor ones," the editorial said. "May the best woman win."