John Williamson (economist)

John H. Williamson
Born
John Harold Williamson

(1937-06-07)June 7, 1937
DiedApril 11, 2021(2021-04-11) (aged 83)
Academic career
FieldInternational economics
InstitutionPeterson Institute for International Economics, World Bank, International Monetary Fund
Alma materPrinceton University (Ph.D.), London School of Economics (B.Sc.)
Doctoral
advisor
Fritz Machlup, Richard E. Quandt
Doctoral
students
Oliver Hart
InfluencesOskar Morgenstern, William Baumol, James Tobin
ContributionsWashington Consensus
Information at IDEAS / RePEc
Websitewww.piie.com/experts/former-research-staff/john-williamson

John Harold Williamson (June 7, 1937 – April 11, 2021) was a British-born economist who coined the term Washington Consensus. He served as a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics from 1981 until his retirement in 2012. During that time, he was the project director for the United Nations High-Level Panel on Financing for Development in 2001.[1] He was also on leave as chief economist for South Asia at the World Bank during 1996–99, adviser to the International Monetary Fund from 1972 to 1974, and an economic consultant to the UK Treasury from 1968 to 1970. He was also an economics professor at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (1978–81), University of Warwick (1970–77), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1967, 1980), University of York (1963–68) and Princeton University (1962–63).

He is best known for defining the "Washington Consensus" in 1989. He made 10 rules that were imposed by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the US government on developing nations. He came to strongly oppose the way those recommendations were actually imposed and their use by neoliberals.[2]

  1. ^ Linn, Johannes, “The Zedillo Commission Report on World Bank Reform: A Stepping Stone for the G-20 Summits in 2010”, article, Brookings.edu, November 18, 2009
  2. ^ Risen, Clay (April 15, 2021). "John Williamson, 83, Dies; Economist Defined the 'Washington Consensus'". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2021.