After months of speculation, the final list of candidates for the next World Bank president is now clear.
On Friday Barack Obama nominated Jim Yong Kim, a world-renowned health expert. The wrong-headed stitch-up that gives the presidency of the World Bank to the US and the managing director’s post at the International Monetary Fund to Europe means Mr Kim is almost certain to get the job. His competitors are two highly-regarded economists – the former Colombian finance minister, José Antonio Ocampo, and Nigeria’s minister of the economy and finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
This newspaper has acknowledged that, were Mr Kim to be selected, he could be a good choice. His background in health fits well with the Bank’s broader development goals, while his managerial record at the World Health Organisation shows that he could be effective at implementing these aims.