The Development Economics Vice Presidency (DEC) is the primary hub of the World Bank’s knowledge system. Through its various functions – research, global analysis and development data – it serves member countries and the Bank in generating knowledge and absorbing, disseminating, and utilizing it for economic development and poverty reduction around the world. DEC seeks to increase understanding of development policies and programs by providing intellectual leadership and analytical services to the Bank and the development community. DEC’s structure reflects these objectives, comprising the Development Research Group, Development Data Group, Global Indicators Group, Development Impact Evaluation Group, and Knowledge and Strategy unit.

The Office of the World Bank Group Chief Economist (“the Office”) supports DEC’s Vice-President and WBG Chief Economist as she advises the WBG President and Senior Management and provides intellectual leadership to the Bank’s overall development strategy and economic research agenda.

The Office seeks a highly motivated, well-organized Extended Term Consultant (“the ETC”) who will support the research initiatives of the Chief Economist, as well as any other day-to-day tasks pertaining economic work at the Office. This position will report to the World Bank Group Chief Economist.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The ETC will support the research and data initiatives of the Chief Economist, particularly with regards to macroeconomic and international finance issues. The ETC will be primarily responsible for engaging in the areas highlighted below and developing related research papers and data sets. Additionally, the ETC will collaborate as required with colleagues in DEC and in the WBG and will help the Chief Economist disseminate research ideas across different initiatives within and outside the Bank through workshops, conferences and participation in other events.

While the main projects that the ETC will work on are described below, the ETC will also be expected to contribute to ad hoc tasks pertaining to economic work at the front office, as required by the Chief Economist:

• Debt and COVID-19: The coronavirus pandemic and associated shutdowns have acutely worsened the economic landscape for many countries, including IDA Borrowing Countries, with severe implications for debt sustainability. Many emerging markets and developing countries face potential defaults on external and/or domestic debts and may need debt relief and debt restructuring. Numerous countries are likely to experience (or are already experiencing) debt servicing challenges. Developing an analytical framework and supporting data to assess the current landscape of debt and financial distress is an integral part of the research agenda. How can the World Bank provide debt relief? How can the private sector be catalyzed to join in debt relief efforts? What can be done to resolve defaults and restructuring more quickly than the historical experience? The ETC will make use of World Bank and other data to map financial and economic distress. One of the aims of the analysis is inform and identify nascent problems as these emerge and contribute to the policy and academic discourse on debt relief.

• The role of non-Paris Club bilateral creditors: Over the past decade the creditor composition of developing countries has changed profoundly. A sizeable share of outstanding debt is now owed to bilateral creditors outside the Paris Club, in particular from China. Despite this important role, there exists only limited research and data on how these creditors have approached debt restructurings and debt relief in the past. The ETC will collaborate with the Chief Economist and other researchers to develop research and supporting data on non-Paris Club bilateral debt restructurings. One of the aims of this analysis is to inform ongoing policy efforts to reform the international debt architecture and to create faster and more inclusive debt restructuring processes.

• Legal and regulatory dimensions of debt crises: Recent cases of debt distress have raised attention for legal and regulatory dimensions of sovereign debt and in particular for the design of debt contracts. The ETC will develop research on how the design of lending contracts can impact the resolution of debt crisis and will advise the Chief Economist on how contractual reform can contribute to making sovereign debt restructuring processes faster and less costly. This area for research and policy analysis is intended to include the role of Paris Club and other sovereign bilateral creditors, the role of multilateral institutions and the role of commercial creditors.

• Private and official capital flows to developing and emerging market countries: The Covid crisis has been characterized by volatile private capital flows and a pronounced increase in lending commitments from official creditors. The ETC will work with the Chief Economist and other researchers on monitoring capital flow dynamics to developing countries and will synthesize current research on the area. The ETC will further conduct research on the interplay between official and private lending. What role can official flows play in catalyzing private lending? What are the best ways to provide rescue funding? And which parts of the international financial safety net require reform? A key aim of this research is to identify potential vulnerabilities as they emerge and to contribute research to academic and policy debates on the issue.