Jeff Chelsky is Manager of IEG's Economic Management and Country Programs Unit. Since joining the World Bank in 2008 from the IMF, Jeff has worked as Senior Economist and Lead Economist in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network (PREM) Network, and as Program Manager and Manager in OPCS. His most recent assignment has been as Lead Economist in the Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment (MTI) Global Practice. Jeff has worked on a diverse group of client countries and many client-facing Bank products, including Development Policy Operations, Country Partnership Frameworks, Systematic Country Diagnostics, Country Economic Updates and Economic Memoranda, and Debt Management Performance Assessments.
Jeff’s interest in, and experience with, independent evaluation extends back to the late 1990s when, as senior advisor to the IMF Executive Director who chaired the Executive Board's Evaluation Coordination Group, he assisted in the establishment of the IMF's Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) including by drafting its initial terms of reference. Jeff later served as Senior Economist in IEO, participating in several independent evaluations, including of IMF Technical Assistance, Capital Account Liberalization, IMF Governance and the IMF's Role in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Jeff’s involvement in evaluation and measuring results continued during his time at the Bank, especially in OPCS, where, as Program Manager and then Manager of the Operations Monitoring and Analysis unit in the Strategy, Risk and Results Department (OPSRR), he oversaw the development of new analytical tools and metrics to help staff on the front lines manage project preparation and improve the quality of the Bank's portfolio and pipeline.
Jeff also served as Head of the Secretariat of the Corporate Data Director's Group under the WBG's Data Council and as co-chair (along with IFC) for the World Bank Group’s Working Group on the Mobilization of Private Finance. Jeff has also managed various facets of the Bank's relationship with the IMF and the Bank’s engagement with the G20. .Jeff holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Queen’s University of Ontario, Canada and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Toronto, Canada.