WASHINGTON – More than 350 economists have signed a letter to President Barack Obama calling on him to nominate Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen to be the Fed’s next chairman. The letter is designed to draw attention back to Yellen amid signs that Obama is leaning toward nominating his former economic adviser Larry Summers.
The letter, with signees that include economists with past ties to Obama, credits Yellen for prescience in warning in 2005 about an impending real estate meltdown, for her consensus style of leadership and for her commitment to job growth.
Additional Photos
Obama is expected to announce his nomination as early as this month. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s term ends Jan. 31, 2014.
“We believe that Janet Yellen is an extremely effective leader who has demonstrated her capacity to work with the other FRB governors and to bring important perspectives of the American people to her leadership and decisions,” the letter states.
The White House on Tuesday declined to comment when asked about the letter.
Signers include Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz and Alan Blinder, a former economic adviser to President Bill Clinton and a former Fed vice chair himself.
Among those who have closer ties to Obama are Christina Romer, the former head of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers; Laura Tyson, a former top Clinton adviser and former member of Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, and Alice Rivlin, a former director of Clinton’s budget office and Obama’s appointee to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.
The central bank regulates the supply of money and sets interest rates, thereby influencing economic activity, hiring and inflation. It also is the leading regulator of banks and plays a crucial role as the country’s lender of last resort when banks can’t get their money elsewhere.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.