How does someone without formal training in economics become head of the IMF?

albertmills · July 20th, 2014, 6:15 am

How did Lagarde become head of the IMF if she has no formal training in finance or economics? I know she was finance minister in france, but still...you aren't going to become a physicist without academic training in physics, and you're not going to become a surgeon without going to medical school. So if you want to run the IMF, you should go to law-school and become a corporate lawyer? Don't get it. Or is the head of the IMF more like a manager who runs a hospital, but doesn't need to know how to do surgery (or much about academic economics in her case)?

bearish · July 20th, 2014, 6:19 pm

I think it is the latter. You usually don't get to be the head of something by being the best at doing whatever the primary activity of the something is, but rather by being good at being the head of things. And a lot of politics...

tags · July 20th, 2014, 7:22 pm

All that is a 100% politics. Anyway head of IMF, US President, ECB governors, .... these all are muppets. It is the whole apparel/administration/system behind that actually powers the entity, not the face showed to public.There is no revolution from one head of IMF/US President/ECB governors to the next, only (a lot of blabla pre-election and) evolution.

AbhiJ · July 21st, 2014, 11:32 am

You are giving emphasis - too much to academic training and too little to real world training. No amount of text book learning can replace getting your hands dirty.

DominicConnor · July 22nd, 2014, 12:52 pm

She got the job because she was a woman. Go back and read the coverage, lots of items on the subject of "time for a woman".Also because she was French and it was their turn, despite the Frenchman who proceeded her being done for rape.The next head of the IMF will be German and female.I don't know who, nor do their qualifications matter, but their nationality and gender do.However corrupt and incompetent the hiring process at your bank, be aware that those at regulators and international bodies make them look perfect.