President Bok said yesterday he expects that Arnold C. Harberger, chairman of the University of Chicago's economics department, will turn down an offer to direct the Harvard Institute of International Development (HIID).

"I think he probably isn't going to come," Bok said, but he added that he has not yet received a formal statement from Harberger.

Harberger will be in Chile until April 11.

Harberger last week sent a letter to Dean Rosovsky, turning down Bok's proposal to make him both director of ths HIID and a professor in ths Economics Department, reliable sources close to the HIID said yesterday.

Bok said he has not yet seen such a letter.

Rosovsky was hospitalized yesterday because of a pinched nerve and was unavailable for comment.

Party Line

Lester E. Gordon, present director of the HIID, refused to comment, but said he "accepted whatever President Bok has said." Gordon will leave the HIID in June.

David H. Maybury-Lewis, chairman of the Anthropology Department and a member of the HIID Faculty Council, said yesterday he has been told that Harberger has declined Bok's offer. "I've heard he's not coming, but it's not official."

John Womack, Jr., professor of History and critic of Harberger's economic consulting policies in Chile, said he also has heard that Harberger has rejected the appointments. Womack believes that Harberger's decision was motivated by "a combination of appeals by Chicago to stay and the prospect of difficult circumstances here."

Opposition is Cause

Sources within HIID agreed that Harberger chose to remain at the University of Chicago largely because of student and faculty opposition to his appointment.

Harberger had said earlier last month that he would not accept the job if the controversy over his appointment was not resolved.

No Clouds

"If I come to Harvard it will be having surmounted these obstacles and not under a cloud," Harberger said in February.

Harberger's proposed appointment met strong resistance from professors and students who questioned both Harberger's association with the Chilean government and his brand of economics, which emphasizes practical over theoretical considerations. Harberger served as both as informal adviser and a paid consultant to military dictatorships in Latin America, particularly in Chile and Uruguay.

Reputation

Faculty and fellows within HIID have charged that Harberger would damage HIID's reputation in poor countries as director.

Bok said he does not yet know who he will offer the directorship to now, adding that he is considering holding a new search.