| Agustín Carstens | |
|---|---|
| Governor of the Bank of Mexico | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 January 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Guillermo Ortiz Martínez |
| Secretary of Finance (Mexico) | |
| In office 1 December 2006 – 9 December 2009 |
|
| President | Felipe Calderón |
| Preceded by | Francisco Gil Díaz |
| Succeeded by | Ernesto J. Cordero |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 June 1958 Mexico City, Mexico [1] |
| Spouse(s) | Catherine Mansell[2] |
| Alma mater | ITAM, University of Chicago |
| Profession | Economist |
Agustín Guillermo Carstens Carstens (born 9 June 1958 in Mexico City) is a Mexican economist who has served as Governor of the Bank of Mexico since 1 January 2010[3] and was recently seeking to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn as managing director of the International Monetary Fund.[4] In addition, Carstens, along with Christine Lagarde, was one of the two final candidates to become the managing director of the International Monetary Fund.[5] He previously served as Secretary of Finance in the cabinet of Felipe Calderón (2006–09), as deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (2003–06)[1] and as Treasurer of the Bank of Mexico.
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Carstens graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economics from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM). After working as an intern in the Bank of Mexico he received a scholarship and completed both a master's degree (1983) and a doctorate in Economics (1985) at the University of Chicago.[6] His thesis advisor was Michael Mussa, former Economic Counselor and Director of the Department of Research at the International Monetary Fund from 1991 to 2001.[7]
He is married to Catherine Mansell, an academic, writer and economist from the United States who has authored several books on finance and on literary fiction and nonfiction under the pen name C. M. Mayo.[2]
In the mid 1980s Carstens returned to Mexico and rejoined the Bank of Mexico. Before turning 30 he was appointed Treasurer, effectively taking charge of the national reserves. Rising through the ranks in the early 1990s, he was appointed Chief of Staff of chairman Miguel Mancera, and served as Director-General of Economic Research at the end of the 1990s, in charge of designing the Bank's economic policy with governor Guillermo Ortiz Martínez in the aftermath of the Tequila Crisis and the Russian default crisis. While at the Bank he produced several research articles about the Mexican economy and, in particular, co-authored an analysis of the Mexican Crisis along with then Deputy Governor Francisco Gil Diaz, which suggests the Mexican crisis was to a large extent an avoidable run on the Mexican peso brought about by external circumstances and political problems.
After many years at the Bank of Mexico, Carstens took a position at the IMF and served as the Deputy Managing Director —one of three Deputies reporting to the Director and the board— from 1 August 2003 to 16 October 2006.[1]
Carstens left the IMF to coordinate the economic policy program of Felipe Calderón, then president-elect of Mexico, who appointed him as Secretary of Finance shortly after the election was validated.[8]
On 26 March 2007, Carstens was additionally appointed as new chairman of the joint World Bank/IMF Development Committee, a position customarily occupied by a developing country Finance Minister.[9]
As Secretary, Carstens took the unconventional decision to hedge Mexico's oil earnings for 2009 against possible price falls, leading to an $8 billion profit for the country.[10]
In the aftermath of the 2007 popular protests against rising food prices, Carstens regarded high food prices as a positive driver for investment in agriculture. [11]
Carstens was nominated to the Bank of Mexico on 9 December 2009 by President Felipe Calderón,[12] replacing 12-year veteran Guillermo Ortiz, who reduced inflation from double digits to an expected 4 percent by the end of 2009.[13] He was confirmed by the Senate on 15 December 2009 with 81 votes in favor and 19 votes against.[3]
He identifies five characteristics of business cycles in emerging economies that distinguish them from those in industrialized nations[14]:
Carstens claims that the solution to these problems is for emerging nations to[14]: