Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to Join Economic Studies at Brookings

Washington, D.C. — The Brookings Institution today announced that former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will join the Economic Studies program as a Distinguished Fellow in Residence, effective February 3, 2014.

Bernanke, who served two terms as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, from February 1, 2006 to January 31, 2014, will be affiliated with the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, which will bring rigorous research analysis to critical questions in the two vital areas of economic policy. Brookings launched the Hutchins Center on January 16 thanks to the generous support of Brookings Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees Glenn Hutchins, whose $10 million grant from the Hutchins Family Foundation supports the activities of the Hutchins Center.

Before his appointment as Federal Reserve Chairman, Dr. Bernanke was Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers from June 2005 to January 2006. He was also a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2002 to 2005. Prior to joining the Federal Reserve, Bernanke was a Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton since 1985. He has published many articles on a wide variety of economic issues, including monetary policy and macroeconomics, and he is the author of several scholarly books and two textbooks.

“We are proud to welcome Chairman Bernanke into the Brookings family,” said Brookings President Strobe Talbott. “His firm, steady hand at the Fed’s tiller came at a crucial time in our nation’s history, including during the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression. We know he’ll bring insights from his tenure at the Fed to his work at Brookings, which will be particularly valuable and timely given heightened attention to monetary policy and the recent launch of the Hutchins Center.”

“As a leading scholar on the causes of the Great Depression and the role of credit in a well-functioning economy, Chairman Bernanke was the right man at the right time,” said Vice President and Director of Economic Studies Ted Gayer. “We look forward to having him as part of our team, as we continue to research and promote policies that foster a stronger recovery from the Great Recession.”

“Brookings scholars have a well established reputation for contributing innovative ideas and trenchant analysis to economic and other public policy debates,” said Dr. Bernanke. “I welcome the opportunity to engage in that vibrant community through research and writing.”

Brookings has a long history with the Federal Reserve Board. Brookings Board of Trustee members Frederic Delano and Paul Warburg were original members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in 1914. Longtime Fed Chairman William McChesney Martin, Jr. (1951-1970) was a member of the Brookings Board of Trustees from 1970-1997. Alice Rivlin and Donald Kohn, both of whom served as Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve, are Senior Fellows in the Economic Studies Program; Edward Gramlich and Nancy Teeters, both Federal Reserve Governors, were Senior Fellows in the Economic Studies. Lael Brainard, currently a nominee for Governor, was a Brookings Vice President. In addition, Former Brookings President Bruce MacLaury (1977-1995) was the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (1971-1977).