Our Reporter, Abuja
World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has announced the appointment of Professor Robert W. Staiger as the organization’s new Chief Economist and Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division (ERSD). Staiger will assume the role at the start of 2026.
“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Robert W. Staiger to the position of Chief Economist and Director, ERSD,” Okonjo-Iweala said on Tuesday in a statement.
“Bob is a highly authoritative voice in world trade, specializing in the study of international trade policy rules and institutions, with particular emphasis on the economics of the GATT/WTO.”
Staiger, a U.S. national, is currently the Loren M. Berry Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has written extensively on global trade rules and institutions and is widely recognized as a leading scholar in the field of international economics.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Williams College and a PhD in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Staiger will succeed Ralph Ossa, who has served as the WTO’s Chief Economist since 2022.
