Somik V. Lall is Director of Strategy in the Office of the World Bank Group Chief Economist.
Lall has held various leadership positions across the World Bank Group including Senior Adviser to the World Bank Group Chief Economist, Director of the 2024 World Development Report on the Middle-Income Trap, Acting Director of DEC Development Policy, Head of the Climate Economics Team, and Global Lead in the Sustainable Development and Infrastructure Vice Presidencies.
Lall has directed the World Bank's 2024 World Development Report on the “Middle Income Trap”(opens in a new tab) that examines how middle-income countries can break into the ranks of the wealthiest economies. He is also a co-founder of the Growth Academy, a joint initiative between the World Bank and the University of Chicago to advance joint research programs on economic growth with think tanks in emerging economies.
As head of the climate economics and policy team in the World Bank’s Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions vice presidency, he developed and supervised policy research programs on resilience and economic development, the macro-criticality of climate change, and innovations for the low-carbon transition.
Lall has published extensively on key policy issues facing key emerging economies. Recent research includes assessment of business dynamism in Ukraine, the cost of keeping women out of productive jobs, the effectiveness of spatially targeted industrial policies, jobs potential of African cities, and identifying “differentiated” responsibilities for carbon emissions across countries. During the pandemic, he developed a novel data-driven approach to help city mayors rapidly respond to protect their citizens from the ravages of COVID 19. Listen to his Monocle podcast.
Lall also teaches at Johns Hopkins University and has been a Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy in New Delhi. He has previously served as Senior Economic Counselor to the Government of India.