WASHINGTON, United States — Uruguayan Carlos Végh is the new World Bank chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Végh will oversee a team of economists charged with providing intellectual leadership, economic analysis, and advice on the development issues facing Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Region.

The announcement was made by the World Bank on Thursday. Végh replaces Ecuadorean economist Augusto de la Torre, who served as chief economist for LAC since September 2008 and retired at the end of last year.

“It is a great honour to take this position and build on the intellectual leadership of my predecessors,” said Végh. “Despite significant economic and social progress in recent years, the region is likely to face some challenging times in the near future. In the long run, LAC will need to consolidate past gains and strive for further improvements in a broad range of areas. I look forward to contributing to this process.”

Végh, who will start in his new role on February 1, is currently the Fred H Sanderson professor of International Economics at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Previously he also served as professor of economics and vice-chair of undergraduate studies at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and before that as chair of the Program in Comparative and Topical Studies at UCLA’s Latin American Center.

Végh’s research on monetary and fiscal policy in emerging and developing countries has been highly influential and is regularly featured in the international financial press. He has contributed to several World Bank reports such as the Global Economic Prospects.

He has also served as visiting scholar in Banco Central de Chile, Colombia’s Banco de la República and Banco de México. During the 1980s and 1990s Végh served in different research positions at the International Monetary Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC.

He is currently editor in chief of Economía, a publication of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association. He has also held other editorial positions in specialised publications such as the IMF Economic Review, the Journal of Development Economics and the Journal of International Economics, among others.

He holds a doctorate degree on economics from the University of Chicago and bachelor’s degree on economics from American University in Washington DC and Universidad de la República in Uruguay.