Laurence Meyer (born March 8, 1944) is an American economist who served as a member of the

Federal Reserve Board of Governors 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 ...

from 1996 to 2002. Meyer received a B.A. (

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

) from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1965 and a Ph.D. in economics from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1970. He then taught at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

for 27 years. Meyer also ran an economic consulting firm, ''Laurence H. Meyer and Associates'', with two former students. He won several

economic forecasting Economic forecasting is the process of making predictions about the economy. Forecasts can be carried out at a high level of aggregation—for example for GDP, inflation, unemployment or the fiscal deficit—or at a more disaggregated level, for ...

awards while running the company. After he moved to the US Fed, he sold his interest in the firm and it was renamed ''Macroeconomic Advisers''. In 1996, he and

Alice Rivlin Alice Mitchell Rivlin (born Georgianna Alice Mitchell; March 4, 1931 – May 14, 2019) was an American economist and budget official. She served as the 16th Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve from 1996 to 1999. Before her appointment at the F ...

were nominated to the Fed by US 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 ...

. At the Fed, Meyer was one of the governors most ready to raise

interest rate An interest rate is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited, or borrowed (called the principal sum). The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the principal sum, the interest rate, th ...

s, because he believed that the economy was operating near full capacity, and especially that the employment rate was near the

non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment Non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU) is a theoretical level of unemployment below which inflation would be expected to rise.

, or the rate that would cause

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...

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. ...

, the chairman at that time, was one of the leaders of the idea that improved

productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proces ...

would allow the Fed to keep interest rates low without causing inflation. After leaving the Fed, Meyer became a Distinguished Scholar at the

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts polic ...

. He also founded ''Monetary Policy Analytics, Inc. dba LH Meyer''

Publications

External links

Meyer's speech "Come with me to the FOMC"

CSIS biography

Interview with the Minneapolis Fed

Statements and Speeches of Laurence H. Meyer

Monetary Policy Analytics Inc. Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Laurence 1944 births 21st-century American economists Economists from New York (state) Federal Reserve System governors Living people MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni People from the Bronx Washington University in St. Louis faculty Yale University alumni Clinton administration personnel George W. Bush administration personnel