Vikram Nehru is no longer with the Carnegie Endowment.
Vikram Nehru is a nonresident senior fellow in the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. An expert on development economics, growth, poverty reduction, debt sustainability, governance, and the performance and prospects of East Asia, his research focuses on the economic, political, and strategic issues confronting Asia, particularly Southeast Asia.
Nehru is currently a distinguished practitioner-in-residence at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. From 1981 to 2011, he served in the World Bank, including in a number of senior management positions. Most recently, he was chief economist and director for poverty reduction, economic management, and private and financial sector development for East Asia and the Pacific. In this capacity, he advised the governments of developing countries in East Asia and the Pacific on economic and governance issues, including macroeconomic management, public sector and public financial management, financial and private sector development, and poverty reduction.
Previously, he directed the World Bank’s Economic Policy and Debt Department, where he was responsible for managing global programs for debt relief and for developing new tools and techniques for growth analytics, fiscal-policy analysis, subnational and regional development, and small-states development. In addition, he chaired the bank’s Economic Policy Sector Board, which provided strategic leadership for all of its country and macroeconomists.
In leading the World Bank’s Debt Department, Nehru managed the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, Debt Sustainability Framework, Debt Reduction Facility, Debt Management Facility, Debt Management Performance Assessment Program, and Medium Term Debt Strategies for Developing Countries.
His portfolio at the World Bank also included serving as lead economist on Indonesia and China as well as senior economist for Ghana. Prior to joining the World Bank, he held an administrative position with the government of India.
Nehru has written numerous journal articles and contributed to several books. His papers include: “East Asia and the Pacific Confronts the ‘New Normal’”; “The Concept of Odious Debt: Some Considerations”; “When is External Debt Sustainable?”; “Indonesia in Crisis”; and “China 2020: Development Challenges in the New Century.”
Exactly twenty years have passed since the Asian financial crisis, a landmark event that triggered massive economic disruption in the heart of Asia even as its shockwaves reached as far afield as Russia and Brazil.
As China continues to grow, reform, invest abroad, and integrate with the global financial system, it is almost inevitable that one day the RMB will rival the U.S. dollar and the Euro as a global reserve currency. But that day is still far away.
While the book's logic is compelling, with solid analysis and prescriptions, its recommendations for fundamental reforms fail to take into account the political-economy constraints embedded in post-Suharto Indonesia's complex and evolving political system.
Myanmar’s abundant natural resources have served as the country’s main export revenue, but have also been a primary driver of conflict in ethnic areas. What should the newly elected government do to improve the governance of resource wealth in the country, and how can the international community assist?
On May 9, Filipinos will vote for a new president and vice president in arguably one of the country’s most consequential elections.
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo appears to be using his improving political strength and popularity to introduce much needed economic reforms.
Joko Widodo’s first year in office was a difficult one for the Indonesian leader. His second year has started on a much more promising note, but maintaining this momentum will be a challenge.
By April 1 Myanmar will have elected its new president, heralding the end of over six decades of authoritarianism. But the new administration faces daunting economic, social, and political challenges.
China’s militarization of Woody Island will make it more difficult for other countries to challenge China on legal grounds and has the support of Chinese domestic public opinion.
Despite its strategic location and economic heft, several domestic shortcomings are keeping Indonesia from projecting power globally and regionally.