Douglas William Elmendorf (born April 16, 1962)
is an American
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, 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 ...
who is the dean and Don K. Price Professor of Public Policy at the
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
. He previously served as the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress.
Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manages ...
(CBO) from 2009 to 2015. He was a
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...
senior fellow from 2007 to 2009, and briefly in 2015 following his time at the CBO, and was a director of the Hamilton Project at Brookings.
Early life and education
Born in
Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
, Elmendorf attended the
Poughkeepsie Day School
Poughkeepsie Day School is an independent, progressive, coeducational school in the mid-Hudson Valley serving students from a broad region of New York and Connecticut from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
History
Founded in 1934, it was origi ...
and graduated from Spackenkill High School.
He spent his early career as an academic and educator. He graduated from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
with an A.B. in economics in 1983 after completing a 70-page long senior thesis titled "A Prediction Model of the Market for Engineering." He then attended
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
to obtain his master's and Ph.D. in the same subject. After graduating in 1989, he stayed at Harvard for four years as an assistant professor, working closely with economics professor
Martin Feldstein
Martin Stuart Feldstein ( ; November 25, 1939 – June 11, 2019) was an American economist. He was the George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University and the president emeritus of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER ...
, the director of the
Council of Economic Advisers
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 ...
under President
Ronald 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 ...
, to teach introductory economics classes.
Career
In 1993, Elmendorf moved to public life, working for the
Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress.
Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manages ...
for the first time. He spent a year as an associate analyst before joining full-time in 1994 as a principal analyst where Elmendorf focused on health-care issues and the economic effects of budget deficits. Working under Director
Robert Reischauer
Robert Danton Reischauer (born 1941) is an economist and was one of the two public trustees of the Medicare and Social Security Trust Fund. He is a nationally known expert on the federal budget, health reform, Medicare, and Social Security. Mo ...
, Elmendorf worked on a team that concluded President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
's health reform package would cost much more than originally thought. This analysis helped cripple Clinton's attempt to reform health care.
Elmendorf only stayed a year at the CBO as a principal analyst before heading to the
Federal Reserve Board
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement the mon ...
as an economist under Chair
Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan (born March 6, 1926) is an American economist who served as the 13th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006. He works as a private adviser and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC. ...
. In 1998, his travels through the financial departments of the federal government continued, as Elmendorf moved to the
Council of Economic Advisers
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 ...
, working as a senior economist under Director
Janet Yellen
Janet Louise Yellen (born August 13, 1946) is an American economist serving as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury since January 26, 2021. She previously served as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. Yellen is t ...
. After staying at the CEA for a year, Elmendorf then joined the
United States Treasury Department
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an United States federal executive departments, executive department. The departme ...
as deputy assistant secretary for economic policy, working under Clinton
Treasury Secretary
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
Lawrence Summers
Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist who served as the 71st United States secretary of the treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as director of the National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010. He also served as pre ...
. When
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
took office, Elmendorf moved back to the
Fed as a senior economist and in 2002, he got a promotion to chief of the
macroeconomics
Macroeconomics (from the Greek prefix ''makro-'' meaning "large" + ''economics'') is a branch of economics dealing with performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole.
For example, using interest rates, taxes, and ...
analysis team, leading a group of 30 economists and researchers as they forecasted inflation rates and labor markets.
In 2007, Elmendorf began working for the well-known economic think-tank the
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...
, co-editing the twice-yearly publication "
Brookings Papers on Economic Activity
{{Infobox Journal
, title = Brookings Papers on Economic Activity
, cover =
, former_name =
, abbreviation = Brook. Pap. Econ. Act.
, discipline = Economics
, language =
, editors = Janice Eberly
...
."
In 2008,
Jason Furman
Jason Furman (born August 18, 1970) is an American economist and professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. On June 10, 2013, Furman was named ...
, the director of the Brookings' group known as the
Hamilton Project The Hamilton Project is an economic policy initiative within the Brookings Institution. It was originally launched in April 2006 by a combination of public policy makers, business people, academic leaders, and other former Clinton administration ec ...
left to join the
Obama campaign. Elmendorf replaced him as director of the Project, a forum for economic policy discussion that was created by
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
's Treasury Secretary
Robert Rubin
Robert Edward Rubin (born August 29, 1938) is an American retired banking executive, lawyer, and former government official. He served as the 70th United States Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton administration. Before his government ...
— an advocate of free trade and a small deficit.
[http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Douglas_W._Elmendorf]
Testifying before the House Budget Committee in June 2011 Director Elmendorf said that "uncertainty about federal policy is diminishing household and business spending and that uncertainty covers a whole set of policies: It covers tax policy, it covers regulatory policy and it covers health policy." He noted that New figures released 30 June 2011 by the CBO show debt rising to 190 percent of the gross domestic product by 2035. Economists have warned that exceeding 90 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) is a prescription for a debt crisis. "The current level of debt is reducing our output, our incomes relative to what would be the case if we had a lower level of debt, leaving aside the effects of this particular recession, which complicate that," Elmendorf said. As of 2011 debt to GDP levels are 70%.
In August 2011 the CBO noted a dismal outlook of the nation's budget and economy, crystallizing the challenges Congress faces this fall in reducing deficits and increasing employment. CBO projects a $1.28 trillion deficit for the fiscal year, and total deficits over the next 10 years of $3.5 trillion. Gross federal debt is expected to rise from $14.8 trillion this year to $21.3 trillion in 2021, CBO said. "A great deal of the pain of this economic downturn still lies ahead of us," Director Elmendorf said at a Wednesday press conference after the report's release. He said the debt-ceiling deal "makes a real difference, so I guess that's good news." He then added: "I think the challenges that remain are very large."
CBO estimates show Congress faces huge test on debt, unemployment
/ref>
In June 2015, Harvard University President Drew Faust
Catharine Drew Gilpin Faust (born September 18, 1947) is an American historian and was the 28th president of Harvard University, the first woman to serve in that role. She was Harvard's first president since 1672 without an undergraduate or gradu ...
announced that Elmendorf would succeed David T. Ellwood as Dean at Harvard Kennedy School. "Doug Elmendorf is an outstanding public servant, an admired mentor and teacher, and a distinguished economist deeply immersed in the interplay of research and policy — an experienced leader in government who embodies the Harvard Kennedy School's commitment to joining scholarship, education, and practice to serve the public good," Faust said in a press release. Elmendorf assumed office in January 2016.
Personal
Elmendorf is married to Karen Dynan, Professor of the Practice of Economics at Harvard University, and a Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. They live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with their twin daughters.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elmendorf, Douglas W.
1962 births
Economists from New York (state)
American people of German descent
Assistants to the President of the United States
Directors of the Congressional Budget Office
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
Harvard Kennedy School staff
Living people
People from Poughkeepsie, New York
United States Department of the Treasury officials
Princeton University alumni
21st-century American economists
Brookings Institution people