A Developing Storm

The question uppermost in the minds of many on the Faculty Council of the Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID) is, "Why Arnold Harberger?"

Without consulting HIID's Faculty Council, President Bok offered Harberger, who is chairman of the University of Chicago's economics department, the top position at HIID.

The reaction of the council, and of a broad spectrum of professors both at Harvard and at other universities, has been one of bafflement. Many feel that Harberger's association with the Chilean military regime, his brand of "Chicago school" economics, and his strictly economic approach to development will damage the HIID's reputation, and set it on a narrow course, which might exclude other disciplines like sociology and anthropology.

Bok's unilateral decision to tender the offer upset some council members. Harberger himself says he warned Harvard officials that his appointment would cause "rumblings."

So why did Bok decide to offer an appointment almost bound to polarize the academic circles involved in the study of development?

First, the search committee, while not excluding candidates from other disciplines, focused on finding an economist with extensive contacts in the governments of developing countries.

"The HIID's reputation has been built up in the field of economics, so if you brought in someone from the soft end of political science, that person would have to overcome hurdles in HIID's consulting" for foreign government and institutions, Stephen Bailey, a member of the search committee, says.

Much of the reason for choosing an economist, then, was economic. As Lester Gordon, current director of HIID, explains, the HIID's annual income from its endowment is a meagre $28,000. Almost 80 per cent of the Institute's operating budget comes from its consulting work. As a result, the HIID has been unable to devote much of its resources to research and teaching, but has instead concentrated on the advising end of the operation.

For bringing in business, Harberger is a sound choice. He has hundreds of students working in governments and universities throughout Latin America. He personally has consulted for dozens of governments--from Mexio to Bolivia, from Costa Rica to Chile. He is experienced and he has the contacts.

Observers say Bok also wanted to find someone prestigious. Gordon, the current director, has no doctorate, and some have felt the HIID lacks the outstanding academic reputation it should have.

Few would question Harberger's outstanding credentials in his field or his brilliance as an economist. However, critics of the appointment have added a number of new variables to the Harberger equation; their solution suggests Harberger's approach to development might be too narrow for HIID.