Ben Bernanke

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Ben Bernanke official portrait

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President Barack Obama meets with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke 4-10-09

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Ben Bernanke testifying

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President Bush Discusses Economy 2008-9-19

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Bernanke Briefing 2013 (9088486134)

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Ben Bernanke sworn in to the Federal Reserve Post

Ben Shalom Bernanke (born December 13, 1953) is an American economist who served two terms as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, from 2006 to 2014. He is among the most influential economists in the world, credited with navigating the United States through the Great Recession with policies that included lowering interest rates to near zero and implementing a series of quantitative easing measures.

Early Life and Education

Bernanke was born in Augusta, Georgia, and grew up in Dillon, South Carolina. He showed early signs of academic excellence, achieving a perfect score on the SAT and being named valedictorian of his high school class. Bernanke attended Harvard University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1975. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1979. His doctoral thesis, "Long-term Commitments, Dynamic Optimization, and the Business Cycle," showcased his deep interest in macroeconomic issues.

Academic Career

Before his appointment to the Federal Reserve, Bernanke was a professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University from 1985 to 2002. During his tenure at Princeton, he published extensively on a wide range of economic issues, including monetary policy, macroeconomics, and the Great Depression. His work on the Great Depression, in particular, has been highly influential, with Bernanke arguing that the failures of the banks and the subsequent reduction in lending and credit were major factors in the depth and length of the Depression.

Chairman of the Federal Reserve

In 2002, Bernanke was appointed to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and in 2005, he became Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers. In 2006, President George W. Bush nominated him to succeed Alan Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke's tenure as Chairman was marked by the onset of the global financial crisis in 2007. In response to the crisis, Bernanke implemented a series of unconventional monetary policy measures aimed at stabilizing the financial system and promoting economic recovery. These measures included significant reductions in the federal funds rate and the purchase of long-term securities in an effort to lower long-term interest rates and encourage investment and spending.

Post-Federal Reserve Career

After stepping down as Chairman of the Federal Reserve in 2014, Bernanke joined the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., as a Distinguished Fellow in Residence in the Economic Studies Program. He has continued to speak and write on economic issues, including monetary policy, financial regulation, and economic recovery.

Legacy

Bernanke's leadership during the Great Recession has been widely discussed and debated. Supporters credit him with preventing a possible second Great Depression through his aggressive use of monetary policy tools. Critics, however, argue that some of his policies may have laid the groundwork for future economic problems or contributed to income inequality.

Selected Works

Bernanke has authored several books and numerous articles on economic topics. His books include "The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis" and "The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath," where he provides an insider's account of the financial crisis and his role in crafting the response.