The search for the next president of the World Bank would normally fall outside of Spectator’s purview. The Bank’s headquarters are located in Washington, D.C., not Morningside Heights. The department of economics probably spends a lot of time disagreeing about how effectively its loans reduce poverty in the developing world—while that might make for an entertaining office dynamic on the 10th floor of IAB, there is little else that might concern the average Columbia undergraduate.
But on March 1, Jeffrey Sachs nominated himself for the position. Today, President Obama nominated Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim instead. Hours after news broke, Sachs withdrew his candidacy to throw his support behind Kim.
Knee-jerk reactions about Obama’s constant ploy to spite Columbia aside, much of the coverage I have seen in national and international media has brought two genuine and Columbia-relevant concerns to mind.
1.Administrator personalities.
2.How we should think of Jeffrey Sachs?
