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Martin Stuart Feldstein ( ; November 25, 1939 – June 11, 2019) was 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 ...
. He was the George F. Baker
Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...
of
Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...
at
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 highe ...
and the president emeritus of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). He served as president and chief executive officer of the NBER from 1978 to 2008 (with the exception of 1982 to 1984). From 1982 to 1984, Feldstein served as chairman 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 rese ...
and as chief economic advisor to 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 ...
(where his
deficit hawk Deficit hawk is a political slang term in the English speaking world for people who place great emphasis on keeping government budgets under control. 'Hawk' can be used to describe someone calling for harsh or pain-inducing measures (alluding to t ...
views clashed with the Reagan administration's large military expenditure policies). Feldstein was also a member of the Washington-based financial advisory body the
Group of Thirty The Group of Thirty, often abbreviated to G30, is an international body of financiers and academics which aims to deepen understanding of economic and financial issues and to examine consequences of decisions made in the public and private sect ...
from 2003.


Early life and education

Feldstein was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family and graduated from
South Side High School Southside High School or South Side High School may refer to: * Southside High School (Gadsden, Alabama) * Southside High School (Dallas County, Alabama), a school in the Dallas County Schools system * Southside High School (Batesville, Arkansas) ...
in
Rockville Centre, New York Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated as RVC, is an incorporated village located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 24,023 at the 2010 census. Hist ...
. He completed his undergraduate education at
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 highe ...
( AB,
summa 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 Sou ...
, 1961), where he was affiliated with Adams House, and then attended Nuffield College, Oxford (B.Litt., 1963; M.A., 1964;
D.Phil. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
, 1967). He was a Research
Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...
there from 1964 to 1965, an Official Fellow from 1965 to 1967 and was later an Honorary Fellow of the College.


Career

In 1977, he received the
John Bates Clark Medal The John Bates Clark Medal is awarded by the American Economic Association to "that American economist under the age of forty who is adjudged to have made a significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge." The award is named after the ...
of the
American Economic Association The American Economic Association (AEA) is a learned society in the field of economics. It publishes several peer-reviewed journals acknowledged in business and academia. There are some 23,000 members. History and Constitution The AEA was esta ...
, a prize which was awarded every two years until 2010 when it began to be awarded yearly. It is awarded to the economist under the age of 40 who is judged to have made the greatest contribution to economic science. That same year, he was elected 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 1989, he was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
. He was among the ten most influential economists in the world, according to
IDEAS/RePEc Research Papers in Economics (RePEc) is a collaborative effort of hundreds of volunteers in many countries to enhance the dissemination of research in economics. The heart of the project is a decentralized database of working papers, preprints, ...
. He was the author of more than 300 research articles in
economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...
and made contributions to health economics, international economics, and the economics of national security. However, he was known primarily for his greater contributions to
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 ...
, public finance and social insurance. Pioneering much of the research on the working mechanism and sustainability of public
pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...
systems, he advanced the current understanding of the effects of social insurance. Feldstein was an avid advocate of
Social Security reform This article concerns proposals to change the Social Security system in the United States. Social Security is a social insurance program officially called "Old-age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance" (OASDI), in reference to its three componen ...
and was a main driving force behind former President George W. Bush's initiative of partial privatization of the
Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
system. Aside from his contributions to the field of public sector economics, he also authored other important macroeconomics papers. One of his more well-known papers in this field was his investigation with Charles Horioka of investment behavior in various countries. He and Horioka found that in the long run, capital tends to stay in its home country — that is to say, a nation's savings is used to fund its investment opportunities. This has since been known as the " Feldstein–Horioka puzzle." In 1997, writing about the upcoming European monetary union and the euro, Feldstein warned that the "adverse economic effects of a single currency on unemployment and inflation would outweigh any gains from facilitating trade and capital flows" and that, while "conceived of as a way of reducing the risk of another intra-European war", it was "more likely to have the opposite effect" and "lead to increased conflicts within Europe and between Europe and the United States." Feldstein, Martin. (1997). The Political Economy of the European Economic and Monetary Union: Political Sources of an Economic Liability. ''Journal of Economic Perspectives'', 11(4), pp. 23–42.
/ref> In 2005, Feldstein was widely considered a leading candidate to succeed chairman
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. ...
as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. This was in part due to his prominence in the Reagan administration and his position as an economic advisor for the Bush presidential campaign. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote an editorial advocating that Bush choose either Feldstein or
Ben Bernanke Ben Shalom Bernanke ( ; born December 13, 1953) is an American economist who served as the 14th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014. After leaving the Fed, he was appointed a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution. Duri ...
due to their credentials, and the week of the nomination ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'' predicted that the two men had the greatest probability of selection out of the field of candidates. Ultimately, the position went to Bernanke, possibly because Feldstein was a board member of AIG, which announced the same year that it would restate five years of past financial reports by $2.7 billion. Subsequently, AIG suffered a serious financial collapse that played a central role in the worldwide economic crisis of 2007–2008 and the ensuing global recession. The firm was rescued only by multiple capital infusions by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, which extended a $182.5 billion line of credit. Although Feldstein was not explicitly linked to the accounting practices in question, he had served as a Director of AIG since 1988. In March 2007, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation announced that one of four 2007 Bradley Prizes to honor outstanding achievement would be awarded to Feldstein. On September 10, 2007, Feldstein announced that he would be stepping down as president of NBER effective June 2008. Feldstein served as a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from 2006 to 2009. Feldstein said in March 2008 he believed the United States was in a
recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
and it could be a severe one. As a member of the board of AIG Financial Products, Feldstein was one of those who had oversight of the division of the international insurer that contributed to the company's crisis in September 2008. In May 2009, Feldstein announced he would step down as a director of AIG. He served as a board member for
Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 countries. The company was founded in 1876 by, and named after, Colonel ...
. He also previously served on the boards of several other public companies including JPMorgan and TRW. On February 6, 2009, Feldstein was announced as one of U.S. President Obama's advisors on the
President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board The President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, originally the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB), was an ad hoc panel of non-governmental experts from business, labor, academia and elsewhere that President of the United State ...
. He served as a member on the
President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board The President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, originally the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB), was an ad hoc panel of non-governmental experts from business, labor, academia and elsewhere that President of the United State ...
from 2009-2011.


Latter positions

He was a consultant to the U.S. Department of Defense. He served on the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, the Group of 30 and the
National Committee on United States-China Relations National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...
."Martin Feldstein"
. BigSpeak Speakers Bureau. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
Feldstein was invited to participate in the Bilderberg Group annual conferences in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005-2008 and 2010 through 2015. He is also a member of the JP Morgan Chase International Council, a member of the Academic Advisory Council of the American Enterprise Institute, and a member of the British Academy. In 2011 he was included in the 50 Most Influential People in Global Finance ranking of Bloomberg Markets Magazine. In 2017, Feldstein joined a small group of "Republican elder statesmen" proposing that conservatives embrace carbon taxes, with all revenue rebated with lump-sum dividends, as a policy to deal with global climate change. The group also included
James A. Baker III James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President ...
,
N. Gregory Mankiw Nicholas Gregory Mankiw (; born February 3, 1958) is an American macroeconomist who is currently the Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Mankiw is best known in academia for his work on New Keynesian economics. Mankiw ...
, Henry M. Paulson Jr., and George P. Shultz.


Significant interests and publications

;''Domestic saving and international capital flows'' Published in 1980, this article made a significant contribution to international economics. Feldstein along with Charles Horioka contributed to the overall understanding of the international capital market by revealing the essence of the flow of capital in the world capital market. By examining the relationship between domestic investment and domestic savings of 21 OECD countries, Feldstein and Horioka provide statistical estimates revealing that almost all incremental savings of a country will remain in that country despite greater investment opportunities abroad. Puzzled by the unexpected direct relationship between domestic savings and investment, Feldstein and Horioka's findings have become known as the “ Feldstein-Horioka Puzzle”. ;''Social security, induced retirement and aggregate capital accumulation'' Published in 1974, this article made a significant contribution to social insurance. Feldstein facilitated a greater understanding of the effects of social security upon household consumption and savings. The article provides a theoretical analysis of the impact of social security on an individual’s decision regarding retirement and the amount of savings necessary for such retirement. Feldstein revealed that Social Security results in individuals deciding to save less for retirement and to retire earlier. The finding was later contested because it contained a calculation error. Feldstein and other authors did not agree on whether the corrected results made a change of the conclusions necessary. ''The European Union, the euro and the sovereign debt crisis'' Martin Feldstein participated in the academic and popular debate on the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
(EU) and the European common currency from its early stages, with increased interest during the sovereign debt crisis. Taking a political economy perspective, Feldstein argued that the European Union project in general and the creation of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in particular were driven by a strange mix of pro-European internationalism and the pursuit of strictly national interests. Although nuanced in his criticism, Feldstein can be characterized as a Eurosceptic. Feldstein, an enthusiastic supporter of a single market for goods and services in the EU, argued that this goal does not require a monetary union. Furthermore, the creation of a single currency in the EU would increase political tensions in the union, as not all countries share the anti-inflationary stance of the German policy makers. In military and foreign policy, the objective of achieving a political union (of which the monetary unification is only one aspect) would promote the development of a common foreign and defense policy capable of projecting strength on the international scene. During the sovereign debt crisis, Feldstein argued in favor of a "eurozone holiday" solution whereby the countries most affected by the crisis (such as Greece) would temporarily leave the eurozone, revert to their national currencies, devalue and re-enter at a lower exchange rate a few years later, a policy that would ensure a boost in international competitiveness solid enough to offset the economic recession.


Teaching

A well-known figure on the
Harvard 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 ...
campus, Feldstein taught the introductory economics class "Social Analysis 10: Principles of Economics" for 20 years and was succeeded by
N. Gregory Mankiw Nicholas Gregory Mankiw (; born February 3, 1958) is an American macroeconomist who is currently the Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Mankiw is best known in academia for his work on New Keynesian economics. Mankiw ...
. The class, since renamed Economics 10, was usually the largest class at Harvard, which remains the case. He also taught courses in American economic policy and public sector economics at Harvard College. Feldstein may have made one of his greatest impacts by the concentration of his students in top echelons of government and academia, such as Larry Summers, former Harvard president and U.S. Treasury secretary;
David Ellwood David T. Ellwood is an American economist and university administrator. He served as the dean of Harvard Kennedy School and as the Scott M. Black Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University. Early life Ellwood grew up Minnesota. His fat ...
, dean of
Harvard Kennedy School 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, publi ...
; and James Poterba, MIT professor and member of Bush's tax reform advisory panel.
Lawrence Lindsey Lawrence B. Lindsey (born July 18, 1954) is an American economist and author. He was director of the National Economic Council (2001–2002), and the assistant to the president on economic policy for George W. Bush. Lindsey previously served as ...
, formerly Bush's top economic adviser, wrote his doctoral thesis under Feldstein, as did Harvey S. Rosen, the previous chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, Douglas Elmendorf, the former Director of the Congressional Budget Office, José Piñera, Chile's Secretary of Labor and Social Security during its pension privatization in 1980–1981, Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, and Glenn Hubbard, Bush's first chairman of the council and now dean of the Columbia Business School.


References


External links


Faculty profile
at
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 highe ...

Profile
at the National Bureau of Economic Research *
Profile
an

at Research Papers in Economics/RePEc
Column archive
at
Project Syndicate Project Syndicate is an international media organization that publishes and syndicates commentary and analysis on a variety of global topics. All opinion pieces are published on the ''Project Syndicate'' website, but are also distributed to a wi ...

Feldstein Says U.S. Dollar Needs to Depreciate
Jan Zilinsky, ''
The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning in the f ...
'', January 12, 2007 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Feldstein, Martin 1939 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American economists 21st-century American economists Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford American International Group Distinguished Fellows of the American Economic Association Economists from Massachusetts Economists from New York (state) Eli Lilly and Company people Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford Fellows of the Econometric Society Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Harvard University alumni Harvard University faculty Hoover Institution people Jewish American social scientists JPMorgan Chase people Macroeconomists Massachusetts Republicans National Bureau of Economic Research People from Belmont, Massachusetts People from Rockville Centre, New York Presidents of the American Economic Association Public economists Scientists from New York City South Side High School (Rockville Centre) alumni Writers from New York City Chairs of the United States Council of Economic Advisers Members of the American Philosophical Society Members of the National Academy of Medicine Member of the Mont Pelerin Society