Philip Nathan Jefferson (born 1961/1962) is an American economist who serves as vice chair of the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...

. He has been 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 m ...

since 2022. He was nominated for the position by President Joe Biden in January 2022, and was confirmed by the Senate in May 2022. Upon taking office, he became the fourth Black man to serve on the board. Prior to serving on the board, Jefferson worked at Davidson College as a vice president for academic affairs, dean of faculty, and professor of economics. He was also a professor at both

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 Swarthmore College, and formerly served as a research economist at the

Early life and education

Jefferson was born and raised in the

Kingman Park Kingman Park is a residential neighborhood in the Northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. Kingman Park's boundaries are 15th Street NE to the west; C Street SE to the south; Benning Road to the north; and An ...

neighborhood of Washington, D.C. He attended

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely foll ...

, spending his junior year of college at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

and the following summer as a participant in the American Economic Association pipeline program. He completed a doctoral degree from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

in 1990.

Academic career

After completing his PhD, Jefferson worked as assistant professor at

, a visiting professor at the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

, and as an economist at the

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 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 mo ...

. In 1997, he joined the faculty of Swarthmore College, where he taught courses on econometrics, macroeconomics, and poverty and inequality and became Centennial Professor of Economics. He was the 2005 president of the

National Economic Association The National Economic Association (NEA) is a learned society established in 1969, focused on initiatives in the field of economics. The purposes of the Association are "to promote the professional lives of minorities within the profession. In a ...

. He has been a trustee of Vassar College since 2002, and served on the Swarthmore Borough Council from 2008 to 2012. In 2019, he became vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty at Davidson College.

Federal Reserve

Nomination

On January 14, 2022, President Biden nominated Jefferson to be a member of the Federal Reserve board of governors. Hearings were held before the

Senate Banking Committee The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (formerly the Committee on Banking and Currency), also known as the Senate Banking Committee, has jurisdiction over matters related to banks and banking, price controls, ...

on Jefferson's nomination on February 3, 2022. The committee favorably reported his nomination on March 16, 2022 by a 24-0 vote. The

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

confirmed his nomination by a 91-7 vote. In May 2023, Jefferson was nominated to serve as

Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve The vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the second-highest officer of the Federal Reserve, after the chair of the Federal Reserve. In the absence of the chair, the vice chair presides over the meetings Board of ...

, the board's second-highest position. On September 6, 2023, He was confirmed by the Senate as vice chair by a 88–10 vote.

Selected works

* Jefferson, Philip N. Poverty: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2018. * Jefferson, Philip N., ed. The Oxford handbook of the economics of poverty. Oxford University Press on Demand, 2012. * Jefferson, Philip N., and Frederic L. Pryor. "On the geography of hate." Economics Letters 65, no. 3 (1999): 389–395. * Jefferson, Philip N. "Does monetary policy affect relative educational unemployment rates?." American Economic Review 95, no. 2 (2005): 76–82. * Jefferson, Philip N. "Seigniorage payments for use of the dollar: 1977–1995." Economics Letters 58, no. 2 (1998): 225–230. * Jefferson, Philip N. "Educational attainment and the cyclical sensitivity of employment." Journal of Business & Economic Statistics 26, no. 4 (2008): 526–535.

References

, - 1960s births 21st-century African-American people African-American economists American economists Columbia University faculty Davidson College faculty Federal Reserve economists Federal Reserve System governors Living people Swarthmore College faculty Presidents of the National Economic Association University of Virginia alumni Vassar College alumni Vice Chairs of the Federal Reserve Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-economist-stub