World Bank appoints Nobel laureate Michael Kremer as Chief Economist

The World Bank Group President, Ajay Banga, has announced the appointment of Nobel laureate Michael Kremer as the bank’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics.

The appointment brings one of the world’s foremost development economists to the institution to lead its research, data, and analytical agenda.

The World Bank Group disclosed this in a press statement issued on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, stating that Kremer’s appointment will take effect on October 1, 2026.

The Bretton Woods institution said Kremer is known for tackling real-world problems through innovative solutions grounded in rigorous research and translating his findings into programmes that have reached hundreds of millions of people, from expanding vaccine access and school health programmes to supporting smallholder farmers.

What they are saying

World Bank Group President Banga said Kremer is joining the institution at a time when the world needs bold solutions to urgent development challenges.

• “I am pleased to welcome Michael to the World Bank Group. He joins us at a time when the world needs bold solutions to its most urgent development challenges, including creating jobs that meet the aspirations of more than 1.2 billion young people reaching working age in the coming decade.”
• “Michael has spent his career not just identifying what works in development, but proving it at scale—and that is exactly the kind of thinking we need,” said Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group.
• “The World Bank Group has tremendous research capacity to develop and test innovative solutions to development problems—and the operational reach to scale them up and improve people’s lives,” said Michael Kremer.
• “The challenges ahead are enormous, including creating jobs at scale, unlocking the private capital needed to fund development, and ensuring people have the health, education, and other services they need to thrive. At the same time, new technologies create huge opportunities to boost growth and human well-being. Data, evidence, and research can help firms and governments navigate both the challenges and opportunities. I am excited to work with staff across the Bank Group and partners around the world on this.”

The World Bank Group has moved to strengthen the connection between knowledge and impact, ensuring that research and data drive its analytical agenda, shape policies and scalable solutions across the public and private sectors, and inform its investments, partnerships, and interventions around the world.

More insight

Kremer will take over from Indermit Gill, who held the post for four years from September 2022 and left the World Bank in late August.

He is the first economist to join the World Bank with a Nobel Prize already in hand. Others, including Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Romer, received the honour after serving as chief economist.

• In 2024, Kremer gave a speech at a World Bank event where he called for reforms to help countries meet ambitious development goals.
• He advocated funding innovative pilot projects and incentivising research on new technologies, themes also stressed by Banga since he took office in 2023.
• Under Banga, the World Bank has been promoting job creation and seeking partners in the private sector.
• This comes at a time when bilateral lending and grants to developing nations have declined.

Kremer’s appointment comes as the World Bank continues to emphasise research, evidence, job creation, private capital, and scalable development solutions.

About Michael Kremer

Kremer, who holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard University, currently serves as Director of the Development Innovation Lab at the University of Chicago, where he is a University Professor.

He has conducted research across areas including economic growth, technological change, and development economics. In 2019, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics with Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo for their “experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.”

• Their work used randomised controlled trials to generate reliable knowledge and identify, test, and scale practical solutions.
• Kremer is a MacArthur Fellow, a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Presidential Faculty Fellow.
• He is a co-founder of the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development and a Research Associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research.
• Before joining the University of Chicago, he was the Gates Professor of Developing Societies in the Department of Economics at Harvard University.

Kremer will assume his new role at the World Bank on October 1, 2026.

What you should know

The World Bank in July 2025 appointed Mathew Verghis as its new Country Director for Nigeria.

He succeeded Ndiame Diop, who took on a new role within the institution.

• Verghis, an Indian national, brought more than 25 years of experience in development economics, public finance, and policy reform across Africa, Asia, and Europe.
• He joined the World Bank in 1999 and most recently served as Regional Director for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions in South Asia, based in Washington, D.C.

The appointment was part of the World Bank’s leadership structure overseeing its engagement with Nigeria.