our work
The Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) was established in 2001 to conduct independent and objective evaluations of Fund policies and activities. Under its Terms of Reference, it is fully independent from the Management of the IMF and operates at arm's length from the Board of Executive Directors.
Latest Releases
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January 20, 2023The Fight for the Future of Money— A Discussion with “CryptoDad”
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December 13, 2022Using Nature to Stabilize Climate: A COP27 and CBD15 Progress Report
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our mandate
The IEO's mission is to:
Enhance the learning culture within the Fund, strengthen the Fund's external credibility, and support Institutional governance and oversight.
Enhance the learning culture within the Fund, strengthen the Fund's external credibility, and support Institutional governance and oversight.
about us
IEO Team
Charles Collyns
Director
Charles Collyns
Director
Charles Collyns
Director
Mr. Collyns joined the IEO as Director in February 2017, after working as Managing Director and Chief Economist at the Institute of International Finance for 3 1/2 years. He served as Assistant Secretary for International Finance at the US Treasury Department from February 2010 to July 2013. Prior to joining Treasury, he worked at the IMF, including as Deputy Director in the Research Department responsible for the World Economic Outlook and Deputy Director in the Western Hemisphere Department. He holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Oxford and a BA from the University of Cambridge.
Vivek Arora
Deputy Director and Senior Budget Manager
Vivek Arora
Deputy Director and Senior Budget Manager
Vivek Arora
Deputy Director and Senior Budget Manager
Vivek Arora has served in a range of senior positions at the IMF, with roles in policy development and review, area departments, and enterprise risk management. His previous positions have included Deputy Director of the IMF Strategy, Policy & Review Department; Deputy Director of the African Department; and Head of the Office of Risk Management. Vivek has been a senior reviewer in SPR, a mission chief and desk economist in AFR, APD, and WHD on advanced, emerging, and low income countries, as well as the IMF’s senior resident representative in China and, before that, in South Africa. Vivek has a Ph.D. in economics from Brown University and a B.A. in economics from St. Stephen’s College (Delhi, India) and studied international finance at Harvard University.
Prakash Loungani
Assistant Director
Prakash Loungani
Assistant Director
Prakash Loungani
Assistant Director
Mr. Loungani joined the IEO in June 2017 after 30 years of experience at the IMF and in the Federal Reserve System and academia. He is adjunct Professor of Management at Vanderbilt University and also teaches a popular course at the IMF on Economics for Non-Economists. He is the author of well-rated academic articles in macroeconomics and international economics. His previous jobs at the IMF include: chair of the Jobs & Growth group set up by IMF management; chief of the Development Macroeconomics division; Senior Personnel and Budget Manager for the Research Department; mission chief for Grenada; and advisor to the IMF’s Communications Director. Mr. Loungani holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Rochester.
Michael Kell
Assistant Director
Michael Kell
Assistant Director
Michael Kell
Assistant Director
Michael joined the IEO in January 2019, from the UK National Audit Office, where he was Chief Economist and Director of Value for Money studies on energy and environmental policies. Michael has worked in various economist and management roles in the UK government, in consulting and at research institutes. He has also previously worked at the IMF, on staff in the Fiscal Affairs Department and in the UK Executive Director’s office. He holds a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Oxford.
Cyrus Rustomjee
Assistant Director and Senior Personnel Manager
Cyrus Rustomjee
Assistant Director and Senior Personnel Manager
Cyrus Rustomjee
Assistant Director and Senior Personnel Manager
Mr. Rustomjee joined the IEO in January 2019. He has previously held positions as Director of the Economic Affairs Division at the Commonwealth, as Chairperson of South Africa’s non-bank financial sector regulator and head of South Africa’s G20 Secretariat. Prior to this he served as IMF Executive Director for Anglophone African countries. He holds a doctorate in Economics from the University of London and degrees in Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford and Law from the University of South Africa.
Nicoletta Batini
Lead Evaluator
Nicoletta Batini
Lead Evaluator
Nicoletta Batini
Lead Evaluator
Nicoletta Batini is an Italian economist, notable as a scholar of innovative monetary and fiscal policy practices. She pioneered work on the dangers of fiscal austerity and on how to curb debt successfully during financial deleveraging. Prior to the IMF, she was Advisor of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, Professor of Economics at the University of Surrey, and Director of the International Economics and Policy Office of the Treasury in Italy. She has handled extensive consultancy roles internationally. She holds a Ph.D. in international finance (Scuola Superiore S. Anna) and a Ph.D. in monetary economics (University of Oxford).
Miguel de Las Casas
Lead Evaluator and Alternate Senior Personnel Manager
Miguel de Las Casas
Lead Evaluator and Alternate Senior Personnel Manager
Miguel de Las Casas
Lead Evaluator and Alternate Senior Personnel Manager
Mr. de Las Casas joined the IEO in April 2013. Between 2009 and 2012 he was Advisor to Executive Director at the IMF Executive Board. He previously worked for ten years at the International Affairs Department of the Banco de España. He holds a Masters in International Relations from IE Business School.
Yasemin Bal Gündüz
Senior Economist
Yasemin Bal Gündüz
Senior Economist
Yasemin Bal Gündüz
Senior Economist
Ms. Bal Gündüz joined the IEO in November 2020 after 20 years at the IMF. Her research interests and publications cover the economic impact of IMF-supported programs, debt sustainability, and growth crises in low-income countries. At the IMF’s Institute for Capacity Development, she was a principal contributor to the Common Evaluation Framework for the Fund’s capacity development activities. She also worked for the Turkish Treasury. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Bilkent University, Turkey, an MPhil in Economics and Finance from Loughborough University, U.K., and a BSc in Industrial Engineering from METU, Turkey.
Anthony De Lannoy
Senior Economist
Anthony De Lannoy
Senior Economist
Anthony De Lannoy
Senior Economist
Mr. Anthony De Lannoy joined the IEO in May 2021. Between November 2016 and April 2021 he was Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director at the IMF Executive Board. He previously worked as Deputy Director of Economic and Financial Policy in the Office of the Minister of Finance in Belgium, Advisor to the Executive Director at the IMF Executive Board, and in the National Bank of Belgium. He holds a Masters in Applied Economics from University of Antwerp and a Masters in International Business Economics from KU Leuven.
Jeremie Cohen-Setton
Economist
Jeremie Cohen-Setton
Economist
Jeremie Cohen-Setton
Economist
Mr. Jérémie Cohen-Setton joined the IEO in June 2021. He worked previously as Research Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Affiliate Fellow at Bruegel, Assistant Economist at Her Majesty’s Treasury during the U.K. G20 Presidency, and Economic Consultant at the Asian Development Bank.
He has contributed to research and public policy regarding monetary and fiscal policies in advanced economies, the effects of US trade policies, and European macroeconomic issues, which featured in the New York Times, Financial Times, and Le Monde. In 2018, Jérémie coedited the book Sustaining Economic Growth in Asia with Thomas Helbling, Adam Posen, and Changyong Rhee.
Jérémie holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley and M.A. in Economics and Public Policy from the Paris School of Economics and the École Normale Supérieure.
Photo: Delphine Tomaselli
Natalia Kryg
Economist
Natalia Kryg
Economist
Natalia Kryg
Economist
Natalia Kryg joined the IEO in July 2022 as a Principal Economist on a secondment from European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). She co-led the evaluation of the EBRD’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and continues to assess the crisis responses, now jointly with IEO. She is an active member of the Covid-19 Global Evaluation Coalition. She worked previously in investment banking at Citigroup. She holds a doctorate in Economics from University College London / Oxford University. Her research interests and publications cover bank performance, financial stability, development impact and crisis evaluation.
Joshua Wojnilower
Economist and Budget Officer
Joshua Wojnilower
Economist and Budget Officer
Joshua Wojnilower
Economist and Budget Officer
Mr. Wojnilower joined the IEO in 2016. He previously worked at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Mr. Wojnilower holds a Ph.D. in Economics from George Mason University and a Master’s in Public Administration from George Washington University.
Roxana Pedraglio
Senior Research Officer and Budget Officer
Roxana Pedraglio
Senior Research Officer and Budget Officer
Roxana Pedraglio
Senior Research Officer and Budget Officer
Jiakun Li
Research Officer
Jiakun Li
Research Officer
Jiakun Li
Research Officer
Mr. Li joined the IEO in September 2020. He was previously a research analyst in the African Department (AFR) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Mr. Li is an active member of the AFR Nowcasting team and he specializes in Traditional Statistics and Machine Learning. He holds a Master’s in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University.
Sriram Balasubramanian
Senior Research Officer
Sriram Balasubramanian
Senior Research Officer
Sriram Balasubramanian
Senior Research Officer
Sriram Balasubramanian joined the IEO as a Senior Research Officer in July 2019. He is an economist who is an alumnus of both Columbia University and the University of Southern California. Besides prior experience in the private sector and the WBG, his keen interests include macroeconomic policy research, new growth models and capital flows management among others.
Lukasz Jannils
Research Officer and Budget Officer
Lukasz Jannils
Research Officer and Budget Officer
Lukasz Jannils
Research Officer and Budget Officer
Prior to joining our team, Lukasz worked in the IMF Resident Representative Office in Warsaw, CASE–Center for Social and Economic Research, and the National Bank of Poland. He holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from Warsaw School of Economics and is a Ph.D. candidate at the same university.
Catherine Koh
Research Assistant
Catherine Koh
Research Assistant
Catherine Koh
Research Assistant
Catherine was previously a research analyst in the Strategy, Policy and Review and Western Hemisphere department where she has contributed to projects including SDR Channeling and Resilience and Sustainability Trust.
Elena Pinillos
Projects Officer
Elena Pinillos
Projects Officer
Elena Pinillos
Projects Officer
Elena joined the IEO in September 2021.
Arun Bhatnagar
Senior Admin Assistant
Arun Bhatnagar
Senior Admin Assistant
Arun Bhatnagar
Senior Admin Assistant
Arun joined the IEO in August 2001. Prior to joining the IEO, he worked in the Government of India, mainly in the Ministry of Finance. He holds a B.Com degree from the University of Delhi.
Andrea Nicole Tumbaco
Staff Assistant
Andrea Nicole Tumbaco
Staff Assistant
Andrea Nicole Tumbaco
Staff Assistant
Nicole joined the IEO in December 2019.
be a part
The IEO is based at the IMF headquarters in Washington, DC, USA. In addition to the regular staff positions at the IEO (recruited from the outside and seconded from the IMF staff) there are a variety of options to work for the IEO as a consultant. Long-term consultants are hired for the duration of an entire project or more. Short-term consultants cover particular aspects of a project. Some of the short-term consultants stay based in their home country while working for the IEO.
