The U.S. Senate Banking Committee held a hearing today with one of the most powerful and influential men in economics today, although he is not well known by the American public.
Stanley Fischer was nominated by President Obama to be the next vice chairman of the Federal Reserve back in January. He is widely expected to be confirmed with little opposition.
While Fischer will be taking over Fed chair Janet Yellen’s old position, in many ways he is more qualified than her for the top spot.
Born in 1943 in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), Fischer has moved from the classroom, to international organizations, to high level positions at Citigroup and the Israeli Central Bank.
Fischer started as an associate professor at the University of Chicago and moved to Boston to become a professor at the MIT School of Economics.
In 1977 he wrote a paper entitled “Long-Term Contracts, Rational Expectations, and the Optimal Money Supply Rule,” cementing a central role in New Keynesian economics.
In 1988 through 1990, he served as Vice President, Development Economist and Chief Economist at the World Bank.
In 1994 Fischer moved into a position as the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
After leaving the IMF, he served as Vice Chairman of Citigroup, President of Citigroup International, and Head of the Public Sector Client Group.
Fischer then served as Governor of the Bank of Israel from January 2005 until June 2011. He was widely praised for his handling of the Israeli economy during the global recession.
He is also a member of the Bilderberg Group and attended the Swiss 2011 Bilderberg conference.
During his time in the classroom, his influence on today’s central bankers and their economic policies was forged. He was the thesis advisor for former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and ECB Central Bank President Mario Draghi.
Larry Summers, Greg Mankiw and Kenneth Rogoff are all former students as well.
Considering Janet Yellen appears to be a virtual carbon copy of Ben Bernanke, there is little chance that he’ll dissent with any of her policy decisions.
In remarks released yesterday for the hearing, he stuck to the current Federal Reserve position, stating:
“At 6.7%, the unemployment rate remains too high, and the rate of inflation has been, and is expected to remain, somewhat below the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. At present, achievement of both maximum employment and price stability requires the continuation of an expansionary monetary policy.”
Today’s hearing also discussed the nomination of Lael Brainard, a former U.S. Treasury official, as a Fed governor and a fresh term for Jerome Powell, a current Fed governor.
