About the Authors

Yasser Abdih, a national of Lebanon, is an Economist in the Middle East Division of the IMF Institute. Mr. Abdih holds a B.A. in Economics from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the George Washington University. Before joining the IMF Institute, Mr. Abdih worked in the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department. Prior to joining the Fund, he was an Assistant Professor at Bowling Green State University. His current research is on economic growth, macroeconomic stabilization, and exchange rate issues.

Olumuyiwa S. Adedeji, a national of Nigeria, is an Economist in the Fiscal Operations 3 Division of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department. Mr. Adedeji holds a B.Sc. in Economics from University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and an M.A. in Economic Policy Management and a Ph.D. in Economics from McGill University, Canada. Prior to joining the Fiscal Affairs Department, Mr. Adedeji worked in the Western Hemisphere Department, IMF Institute and Middle East and Central Asia Department.

Corinne Deléchat, a Swiss national, is a Senior Economist in the African Department of the IMF. Ms. Deléchat holds an Economics Ph.D. from Georgetown University and an M.A. in International Economics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. Before joining the African Department, Ms. Deléchat worked for several years in the Fund’s Policy Development and Review Department. Prior to joining the IMF, Ms. Deléchat worked for the Swiss Ministry of Economy handling Swiss debt relief operations and budget support to a number of low-income countries, and at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.

Abdoulaye Diop, a national of Senegal, is Director of Economic Studies and Statistics in the Department of Economic Policies and Fiscal Affairs at the WAEMU Commission. He graduated from the CESD/ENSAE, a French school of engineering specialized in quantitative economics and statistics. Prior to joining the WAEMU Commission, he worked for several years as an economics counselor in the Ministry of the Economy in Senegal and also as an expert for the United Nations Development Program. His main area of interest is the macroeconomics of the African countries. Mr. Diop currently manages the regional program on poverty reduction at the WAEMU Commission.

Gilles Dufrénot, a national of France, is Professor of Economics at the University of Paris XII and is currently working as a senior advisor to the Commissioner in charge of economic policies and fiscal affairs at the WAEMU Commission. Mr Dufrénot holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Paris XII. Prior to joining the WAEMU, he worked as the Managing Director of Ph.D. studies at the University of Paris XII. He also served as an expert for the IMF and the European Commission. His areas of interest include econometrics, macroeconomics, and international economics in issues related to the developing countries.

Manuela Goretti, a national of Italy, is in the Fund’s Economist Program. Ms. Goretti holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. Prior to joining the Economist Program, Ms. Goretti worked for the World Economic Studies Division of the Research Department and spent one year as visiting scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Anne-Marie Gulde, a German national, is an Assistant Director in the IMF’s African Department. She holds a Ph.D. in Intenational Economics from the Graduate Insitute of International Studies in Geneva. Ms. Gulde has published on issues related to exchange rate regimes, financial stability, and financial market development. In her past Fund assignments she worked on surveillance and technical assistance issues for both industrial and developing countries and led Financial Sector Assessment Program missions to countries at different stages of market development. Most recently she has been the IMF mission chief for CEMAC and WAEMU.

Jan Kees Martijn, a national of the Netherlands, is a Deputy Division Chief in the PRGF Operations Division of the Policy Development and Review Department. Mr. Martijn holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Amsterdam. Prior to joining the Fund in 1995, Mr. Martijn worked for several years as an Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam. At the IMF, he has worked on a range of industrial, emerging market, and low-income countries, and most recently on issues related to macroeconomic policies in low-income countries, including the management of foreign aid inflows.

Catherine Pattillo, a national of the United States, is a Deputy Division Chief in the Caribbean I Division of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department. Ms. Pattillo holds a B.A from Harvard University and a Ph.D in Economics from Yale University. Prior to joining the Western Hemisphere Department, Ms. Pattillo worked for three years in the Fund’s African Department on policy issues, CFA countries, and Ghana, and prior to that she worked for several years in the Fund’s Research Department on issues relating to developing countries. Before joining the Fund she was an Economics Fellow at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, and a Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of African Economies.

Mahvash Saeed Qureshi, a national of Pakistan, is in the Fund’s Economist Program. Ms. Qureshi holds a Ph.D. and an M.Phil. in Economics from Trinity College, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Prior to joining the Fund, her research focused on international trade, economic growth, and competition policy issues. Ms. Qureshi has also conducted research for the Overseas Development Institute, United Kingdom; Asian Development Bank, Manila; the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad; and UNU-WIDER, Finland.

Gustavo Ramirez, a national of Colombia, is a Research Officer in the Policy Unit of the IMF’s African Department. He holds an M.A. in Economics from Georgetown University. Prior to joining the African Department, Mr. Ramirez worked in the Fund’s Western Hemisphere Department, the World Bank, the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Chile, and the Foundation for Higher Education and Development (FEDESARROLLO) in Colombia.

Samer Y. Saab, a national of Lebanon, is a Research Assistant in the Africa Regional Division of the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department. Mr. Saab holds a Bachelor’s in Business Management from the American University of Beirut (1999), an MBA in Finance and Investment from the University of Houston (2001), and a postgraduate diploma in Emerging Markets Economics from Johns Hopkins University—School of Advanced International Studies (2005). Before joining the IMF, Mr. Saab worked as a Financial Analyst at the Embassy of the Republic of Cape Verde in Washington, D.C. His research interests include financial sector surveillance, banking competition and efficiency, and financial stability and soundness.

Gilles Sanon, is a national of Burkina Faso. He is Managing Director of Strategic Planning at the WAEMU Commission. For several years, he worked as a senior economist and counsellor in several institutions: the Division of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations and the Prime Minister’s office and the Ministry of Planning and Cooperation in Burkina Faso. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Paris VII and graduated from the CEPE in France. Prior to working in the Strategic Planning Department, Mr. Sanon supervised the program on economic modeling at the WAEMU Commission. His areas of interest include statistical studies, econometrics, and the macroeconomics of developing countries.

Amadou Sy, a national of Senegal, is a Senior Economist in the Sovereign Asset and Liability Division of the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department. Mr. Sy holds a Ph.D. in Finance from McGill University and a M.Sc. in Finance and a Bachelor of Business Administration from HEC Montréal. Prior to joining the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, Mr. Sy worked for several years in the Fund’s Monetary and Financial Systems Department, International Capital Markets Department, and Research Department on financial sector issues.

Charalambos Tsangarides, a national of Cyprus, is an Economist in the Fund’s Policy Development and Review (PDR) Department. He holds an M.Sc. in Statistics from American University, an M.A. in Economics from Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from George Washington University. Before joining PDR Mr. Tsangarides worked in the African Department and served as main desk officer for both WAEMU and CEMAC. Prior to joining the IMF, Mr. Tsangarides worked in the World Bank’s African Department. His research interests include economic growth and development, international trade, and exchange rate issues.

Jérôme Vacher, a national of France, is an economist in the African Division of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department. He holds an M.A. in government from Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (France), an M.Sc in Economics from Université Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne (France), and a postgraduate degree from the Kiel Institute of World Economics (Germany). Prior to joining the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, he was in the Fund’s Economist Program and worked at the IMF Institute and the European Department. Before joining the Fund, he worked at the French-Belgian banking group Dexia and at the French embassy in Poland.

Pierre van den Boogaerde, a national of Belgium, is the Fund’s Resident Representative in Madagascar. Mr. van den Boogaerde holds a Masters in Economics from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Chicago. Prior to taking up his post in Madagascar, Mr. van den Boogaerde worked for several years in the African Department as Deputy Division Chief and mission chief on a number of countries in West and Central Africa.

Romain Veyrune, a national of France, is an Economist in the Monetary and Exchange Regimes Division of the IMF Monetary and Capital Market Department. He currently follows issues regarding the IMF’s de facto classification of exchange rate arrangements. Mr. Veyrune holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Clermont-Ferrand, France. Prior to joining the Fund, his research focused on monetary policy under specific exchange rate arrangements, such as currency boards and the CFA franc zone.

Hans Weisfeld, a national of Germany, is a senior economist in the Policy Unit of the IMF’s African Department. Mr. Weisfeld holds Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from the Free University of Berlin. Mr. Weisfeld was a desk officer for Cameroon, where he focused on fiscal policy issues. Prior to joining the African Department, Mr. Weisfeld was in the Fund’s Economist Program working in the European I and European II Departments, concentrating mainly on monetary policy and and financial sector topics.

Oral Williams, a national of St. Kitts and Nevis, is a senior economist in the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF. He holds a Ph.D. in Applied Economics from Texas A&M University. Prior to joining the Fiscal Affairs Department, Mr. Williams worked in the Western Hemisphere Department on several financial crises. Before joining the Fund he was a Deputy Director at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and an economist at the Caribbean Development Bank.