Irina Yakadina

Irina Yakadina has established herself as a Senior Economist at the International Monetary Fund, where she has served since 2002 across multiple departments including African, European, and Fiscal Affairs Departments. Her academic foundation includes a Ph.D. in Economics from the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, with a specialized focus on optimal fiscal policy. Throughout her IMF career, she has made significant contributions to program and surveillance countries, specializing in fiscal analysis, macroeconomic forecasting, and modeling. Her expertise is particularly evident in her work on debt sustainability, leading the development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on debt sustainability analysis and management (DSAx and DSLx) in both English and French. Her research portfolio primarily focuses on optimal monetary and fiscal policy, with notable publications examining politically optimal fiscal policy and monetary rules under fiscal dominance. As a Russian national, she brings a global perspective to her role, contributing to various IMF initiatives including regional studies in the Asia and Pacific Department and the development of capacity-building programs through the IMF Institute for Capacity Development.