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World Bank’s Romer quits after Chile affair
Context
Paul Romer stepped down as the World Bank’s chief economist on Wednesday after he came under fire for saying that Chile’s rankings in a closely watched Doing Business report may have been deliberately skewed under socialist President Michelle Bachelet
Global search for new chief economist
Mr. Jim said the World Bank would launch a global search for a new chief economist.
Controversial report
The annual report has long been controversial because it ranks countries based on indicators that grade them on how their government bureaucracies affect — and often limit — their business environment
The Rankings
- Chile currently ranks 55th out of 190 countries on the list, down from 34 in 2014, the year Bachelet took office
- In recent years, its rankings were 41st in 2015, 48th in 2016 and 57th in 2017, the World Bank’s reports show
Methodological changes
Mr. Romer told the newspaper that the decline resulted from methodological changes, rather than a deterioration of Chile’s business environment, and may have been the result of the World Bank staff’s political motivations. He told the newspaper he would revise the reports
