John Williamson

Independent activity Liberalism and republicanism

1937.6.7.–2021.4.11. ○ Natural death

Economist who coined the term "Washington Consensus" in 1989

Born in Hereford, England, Williamson studied at the London School of Economics and Princeton. After advising the UK Treasury and the IMF (1972–74), he was a senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics (now the Peterson Institute) in Washington from 1981 to 2012. In 1989, after the debt crisis, he summed up the reforms Washington was urging on debtor countries in ten points and coined the term "Washington Consensus", but he strongly opposed its later use for neoliberalism in general.

Also known as: John Harold Williamson

Activities and affiliations

1981–2012

Independent activityMain
Scholarship and theory

Career Timeline

1963–1968Taught at the University of York
1968.10–1970Economic consultant to HM Treasury
1972–1974Adviser to the International Monetary Fund
1981–2012Senior fellow, Institute for International Economics (Peterson Institute)
1989Formulated the "Washington Consensus"
1996–1999Chief economist for South Asia, World Bank

Related historical events

1982.08.12–1990The Third World debt crisis and structural adjustmentEconomistIn 1989 summed up the reforms Washington was urging on debtor countries in ten points and coined the term "Washington Consensus".