The World Bank has appointed University of Chicago professor and Nobel laureate Michael Kremer as its next chief economist, effective 1 October, bringing a development economist known for scaling evidence-based programmes into the institution's senior research role.

Kremer, 61, will succeed Indermit Gill, who retired last month, and will become chief economist and senior vice president for development economics. His appointment comes shortly before the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.

Kremer jointly received the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences with Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee for an experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. Their research used randomised controlled trials to assess development interventions and identify programmes that could be tested and expanded.

The World Bank said Kremer's research has contributed to programmes spanning health, education, agriculture and technology. His work on deworming helped inform government programmes that have provided 2 billion treatments to children in Africa and South Asia since 2014, while his research on digital agriculture and AI-based weather forecasting has informed programmes reaching more than 50 million people.

Kremer has also worked on vaccine access through Advance Market Commitments, which use donor funding commitments to encourage pharmaceutical companies to develop products for lower-income countries. The World Bank said a $1.5 billion commitment for pneumococcal vaccines, developed with Gavi, has helped vaccines reach 60 developing countries.

World Bank Group president Ajay Banga said Kremer was joining at a time when the institution needed to address major development challenges, including employment for more than 1.2 billion young people expected to reach working age over the coming decade. “Michael has spent his career not just identifying what works in development, but proving it at scale,” Banga said.

Kremer said the bank's research capabilities and operational reach could help develop and scale solutions to development problems. “Data, evidence, and research can help firms and governments navigate both the challenges and opportunities,” he said.

His appointment comes as developing countries face higher interest rates and energy costs, while official development assistance fell 23 per cent in 2025, according to Reuters. Kremer previously served as director of the Development Innovation Lab at the University of Chicago and taught at Harvard University.

Kremer will be the first economist to join the World Bank as chief economist after already having received a Nobel Prize. Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Romer were awarded Nobel Prizes after serving as the bank's chief economist.

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