Ian Andrew Goldin (born 1955) is a South African-born British professor at the University of Oxford in England, and was the founding director of the Oxford Martin School. Goldin is currently the director of the Oxford Martin Research Programmes on Technological and Economic Change, Future of Work and Future of Development. He is also Professor of globalisation and development and holds a professorial fellowship at Balliol College, Oxford.

Education

Goldin was edcuated at Pretoria Boys High School and Rondebosch Boys' High School in Cape Town. He subsequently obtained Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Cape Town, a Master of Science from the London School of Economics, and a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford. In 1999 he completed INSEAD's Advanced Management Program (AMP).

Career and research

Prior to 1996 Goldin was principal economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, and program director at the OECD in Paris, where he directed the Development Centre's Programs on Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development. From 1996 to 2001, Goldin was chief executive and managing director of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and served as an adviser to President Nelson Mandela. He transitioned the Bank from an apartheid-era institution to a major agent for development in the 14 countries of Southern Africa. During this period, Goldin was finance director for South Africa's Olympic Games bid. Goldin was director of development policy at the World Bank (2001–2003) and then vice president of the World Bank (2003–2006). He served on the Bank's senior management team, and was directly responsible for its relationship with the UK and all other European, North American and developed countries. Goldin led the Bank's collaboration with the United Nations and other partners. As Director of Development Policy, Goldin worked on the research and strategy agenda of the Bank, with the Chief Economist, Lord Nicholas Stern, under the leadership of James Wolfensohn. During this period, Goldin was special representative at the United Nations and served on the chief executive board of the UN and the UN Reform Task Force. In 2006, Goldin became founding director of the Oxford Martin School. The school established 45 programmes of research, with over 500 academics from over 100 disciplines. He remained the School's director until September 2016 when Achim Steiner followed him in this position. He is now Director of three research programmes at the department: Technological and Economic Change, Future of Work and Future of Development]. Goldin initiated and was vice-chair of the Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations, which brought together international leaders from government, business, academia, media and civil society to discuss a long-term perspective in international negotiations. Chaired by Pascal Lamy, the Commission published its findings in October 2013. Goldin is also a founding trustee of the International Center for Future Generations, a think tank that is dedicated to ensuring that future decision-makers and equipped and emerging technologies are harnessed to best serve the interests of humanity. Goldin has been a distinguished visiting professor at Sciences Po, Paris and served on the advisory committee of ETH Zurich and the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations, Paris. He is an honorary trustee of Comic Relief and is chair of the trustees of the Core-Econ initiative to reform the economics curriculum and the teaching of economics. He is the writer and presenter of the BBC series 'After the Crash', 'The Pandemic that Changed the World', and documentary: 'Will AI Kill Development?', as well as the BBC Analysis 'the Death of Globalisation?' Goldin is the author of 25 books and over 60 journal articles. He is one of the co-authors of "Exceptional People: How migration shaped our world and will define our future". Goldin's book on human migration was published in 2024. His article on Why is Productivity Slowing Down? was published in the Journal of Economic Literature in March 2024.

Awards

Goldin has been awarded:

Publications

Goldin has published 25 books and over 60 articles, including:

Personal life

Goldin married Theresa Webber in 1992 and has one son and one daughter.