Economics Professor and Head of Research and Policy
IDEAs
Less than a year back, a former chief executive of Mastercard, Ajay Banga, was in a surprise move picked to head the World Bank. Putting a Wall Street player addicted to profits in charge of a development institution claiming to help lift poor countries out of their underdevelopment seemed incongruous.
Given that the bank is seen by many as an institution with a disappointing track record and a governance structure unfit to meet the development challenges of the current epoch, a person with demonstrated concern with social purpose was the needed choice.
