For the past four decades, Dr. Martin Feldstein has been one of the most influential and important thought-leaders on the global economic landscape. He is the George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University and President Emeritus of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). With a tenure of nearly 30 years and spanning two historic economic eras, Dr. Feldstein served as President and CEO of the NBER, a private, nonprofit research organization specializing in producing nonpartisan studies of the American economy for over 80 years.
Recognized for his peerless economic prowess and acumen, Dr. Feldstein has also served-- and continues to do so-- at the highest levels of government. He was Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers for President Reagan as well as his chief economic advisor. In 2006, President Bush tapped him as a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. Most recently, President Obama appointed him to be a member of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board.
SPEAKER TOPICS
ABOUT Martin Feldstein, Ph.D. (+/-)
Revered Advisor to World Leaders and Organizations
As one of the world's foremost economic minds, Dr. Martin Feldstein is active in a variety of organizations in both the private and public sector. He is a Trustee of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Fellow of the National Association of Business Economics and a member of the Trilateral Commission, the Group of 30, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Feldstein has served as a director of several public corporations and is currently a director of Eli Lilly. He is also an economic advisor to many businesses and government entities in the United States and abroad.
Lauded Economic Visionary
Dr. Feldstein's accolades and honors are substantial and significant. He has received honorary doctorates from numerous universities and is an Honorary Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford. He was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal of the American Economic Association, a prize given every two years to the economist under the age of 40 who is judged to have made the greatest contribution to economic science. He is also the author of more than 300 research articles in economics and a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal and other publications.
SPEAKER TOPIC DESCRIPTIONS (+/-)
The current financial crisis and economic downturn are widely regarded as the longest and most damaging of any since the Great Depression. The continuing economic descent reflects both the collapse of the credit market and the decline of household wealth. This massive wealth reduction, in turn, has precipitated a billion-dollar freefall in consumer spending that will continue for the foreseeable future.
Stemming the deterioration of the economy and returning to sustainable growth will be an unprecedented test that requires new perspectives and paradigms to resolve contemporary complex issues. The challenge for economic policy is to enact programs that will galvanize the economy in the short-term but minimize the burden of any spending increases in the form of higher taxes for future generations. In this highly-enlightening, deeply-engaging discussion, Dr. Feldstein explores the journey to a healthy recovery and explains potential government policies that can be utilized to ameliorate and eradicate the barriers and obstacles that lie in the path of future economic growth.
The extraordinary turmoil and instability of today's global financial markets is casting an ominous cloud of uncertainty and anxiety over the role of the US Dollar on the international stage. Large future fiscal deficits combined with foreign lenders' reduced willingness to invest in US securities will significantly impact not only the American economy but those of others worldwide. Concurrently, the nation's savings rate is soaring in the face of severely diminished household wealth and after 20 years of precipitous decline. This perfect storm of unprecedented economic factors will have a profound effect on the US Dollar and its future in world financial markets. Will the dollar fall against other currencies? Will the US lose its status as the reserve currency? Is protectionism coming back? In this extremely timely and compelling presentation, Dr. Feldstein discusses these pressing issues and what may be in store for the U.S. in today's vastly different and dynamic global economy.
