Kalpana Kochhar is currently a Deputy Director in the Asia and Pacific Department of the IMF. Between 2012 and 2014, she was Deputy Director in the Strategy, Policy and Review Department. Between 2010 and 2012, she was the Chief Economist for the South Asia Region of the World Bank.
At the IMF, she has led work on Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal. She has also worked on China, Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Prior to taking this position, she spent time in the IMF’s Strategy, Policy and Review and Research Departments.
Ms. Kochhar’s research interests and publications have mainly focused on studies of emerging markets, jobs and growth including gender and inequality issues and structural reforms, India and other Asian economies, including major reports on jobs, inequality and regional integration in South Asia. She holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Economics from Brown University and an M.A. in Economics from Delhi School of Economics in India. She has a B.A in Economics from Madras University in India.