Albert E. Rees (August 21, 1921 – September 5, 1992) was an American

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

and noted author. An influential labor economist, Rees taught at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

from 1966 to 1979, while also being an advisor to President Gerald Ford. He was also a former Provost of Princeton and former president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He was also the first head of the

Council on Wage and Price Stability Albert E. Rees (August 21, 1921 – September 5, 1992) was an American economist and noted author. An influential labor economist, Rees taught at Princeton University from 1966 to 1979, while also being an advisor to President Gerald Ford. ...

, a short-lived federal agency.

Discussion

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Rees earned his bachelor's degree from Oberlin College in 1943. He later received his master's degree and his doctorate in economics from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

. After obtaining his Ph.D. in 1950, he went on to chair the economics department at Chicago from 1962 to 1966 before moving to Princeton as economics chair there. He later co-authored a landmark labor study with

George P. Shultz George Pratt Shultz (; December 13, 1920February 6, 2021) was an American economist, businessman, diplomat and statesman. He served in various positions under two different Republican presidents and is one of the only two persons to have held fou ...

. Another notable book, ''The Economics of Work and Pay,'' remained in print for two decades over at least six editions at

Harper Collins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp ...

. Notable doctoral students at Princeton included the future Nobel Laureate

James Heckman James Joseph Heckman (born April 19, 1944) is a Nobel Prize-winning American economist at the University of Chicago, where he is The Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and the College; Professor at the Harris School of Pu ...

. He won many awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1969 and election to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 1971. Rees died on September 5, 1992, at University Medical Center of Princeton. Since 1997, Princeton University awards the "Albert Rees Prize" for an outstanding dissertation in labor economics. Oberlin College has also established multiple Albert Rees prizes, including a Fellowship and an Assistantship.

Duke University Libraries Duke University Libraries is the library system of Duke University, serving the university's students and faculty. The Libraries collectively hold some 6 million volumes. The collection contains 17.7 million manuscripts, 1.2 million public documen ...

has a special collection with his papers. Additional special collections at George Mason University Libraries and the Ford Presidential Library house archives for the

, of which he was the founding director.

Council on Wage and Price Stability

The Council on Wage and Price Stability (COWPS or CWPS) Act was signed into law by

President Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

in 1974, with Rees as the new agency's first head. It replaced the formal price controls from the

Nixon administration Richard Nixon's tenure as the 37th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 1974, in the face of almost certain impeachment because of the Watergate Scanda ...

authorized under its precursor, the

Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 The Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 (Title II of , formerly codified a12 U.S.C. § 1904 was a United States law that authorized the President to stabilize prices, rents, wages, salaries, interest rates, dividends and similar transfers as part ...

and its related agency, the

Pay Board and Price Commission Pay may refer to: *A wage or salary earned for work *The process of payment Places * Pay-e Borj, a village in Lorestan Province of Iran *Pay-e Kal-e Garab, a village in Ilam Province of Iran * Pay-e Rah, a village in Khuzestan Province of Iran * ...

. The council continued under

President Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

(with Alfred E. Kahn replacing Rees as its head under the new administration). When

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

took office in 1981, CWPS economists moved to the newly formed Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Some labor and economic regulator responsibilities merged back into their historic homes with the

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Na ...

and the

Council of Economic Advisors The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a United States agency within the Executive Office of the President established in 1946, which advises the President of the United States on economic policy. The CEA provides much of the empirical resea ...

Selected publications

* * * * *

References

External links

Albert Rees Collection at Duke University

Council on Wage and Price Stability Archive at George Mason University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Albert 1921 births 1992 deaths Economists from New York (state) American academic administrators Writers from New York City Oberlin College alumni University of Chicago alumni Princeton University faculty Writers from New Jersey Writers from Chicago University of Chicago faculty Chicago School economists Alfred P. Sloan Foundation people United States presidential advisors Ford administration personnel American nonprofit chief executives New Jersey Republicans American people of Welsh descent Labor economists American economics writers George Mason University people Heads of United States federal agencies Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Economists from Illinois 20th-century American economists Journal of Political Economy editors

Discussion

Council on Wage and Price Stability

Selected publications

Archives

See also

References

External links