GITA GOPINATH

Fiscal policy is a very important part of the tool kit for policy makers.

I guess I am politically very naive.

We need to realise that entrepreneurship is not necessarily increasing employment.

I am purely a technocrat and I reject all ideological labels.

There was never a perception that I was second-class relative to boys. That gave me confidence.

The idea that RBI will be able to make a big transfer to the government was misplaced. It was a very good signalling device that the government was very serious about cracking down on corruption and black money. But I do not think it was very effective in curbing it.

Skilling is one area where some researchers are looking at outcomes and finding that while there are lots of people who are joining and completing skilling programmes, it is not getting fully translated into getting and keeping jobs. We need to understand how to fix this problem. The returns to having high quality skills are very high.

There is a need for greater multilateral cooperation to resolve trade conflicts, to address climate change and risks from cybersecurity, and to improve the effectiveness of international taxation.

Rather than waiting for a crisis to erupt before intervening, the IMF should provide 'forward guidance' on how it will tackle potential disruptions in international financial markets.

I am a trained economist.

Across all economies, the imperative is to take actions that boost potential output, improve inclusiveness, and strengthen resilience.

Being born into a Malayali family that followed a matriarchal system, I always felt loved and had a high sense of self-worth.

Harvard is famous for being an 'absorbing state' for faculty with almost no one leaving it for another institution, which is why the decision of granting tenure is a life long commitment.

Countries with fiscal space should invest in physical and social infrastructure to raise potential growth.

Emerging market and developing economies have benefited from monetary easing in major economies but have also faced volatile risk sentiment tied to trade tensions.

Being born a girl in India, it matters a lot what family you are born into.

GDP is a function of capital, labour and how productively you use both.

Fiscal policy will need to manage trade-offs between supporting demand, protecting social spending, and ensuring that public debt remains on a sustainable path, with the optimal mix depending on country-specific circumstances.

One of the strengths of the U.S. economy is its ability to most efficiently employ resources both domestically and from around the world and outsourcing is one such example of this.

It is important for India to stay the course on fiscal consolidation.

Business cycles in emerging markets behave differently from developed markets.

Recapitalization has helped in many parts of the world.

I don't attach any labels to myself and if I can be of any help to Kerala in terms of thinking about some of the economic issues there, provide my input which can be taken or discarded, I thought that would be a good thing to do.

Where fiscal space is low, fiscal policy needs to adjust in a growth-friendly manner to ensure public debt is on a sustainable path, while protecting the most vulnerable.

Portfolio investment, often called 'hot money' because of its volatile nature, can increase the economy's vulnerability to the vagaries of international finance. Foreign direct investment, on the other hand, is far more stable and driven by domestic fundamentals.