IMF names UC-Berkeley's Gourinchas as next chief economist

The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it has appointed French-born University of California-Berkeley economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas as the Fund's next chief economist, replacing Gita Gopinath, who is joining the IMF management team this month.

The Fund said Gourinchas, who joined UC-Berkeley in 2003 and held previous economic posts at Princeton University and Stanford University, will start part-time on Jan. 24 and transition to full-time Fund work on April 1.