Martin Feldstein American economist Date of Birth: 25.11.1939 Country: USA

1. Martin Feldstein: Biography
2. Early Life and Education
3. Academic Career and Contributions
4. Other Roles and Recognitions

Martin Feldstein: Biography

Martin Feldstein is an American economist who currently teaches economics at Harvard University and holds the position of Honorary President of the National Bureau of Economic Research, which he led for 30 years from 1978 to 2008. From 1982 to 1984, Feldstein served as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Ronald Reagan. He was also a member of the Washington-based financial advisory group, the Group of Thirty, since 2003.

Early Life and Education

Martin Feldstein was born on November 25, 1939, into a Jewish family in New York. He graduated from South Side High School, which later ranked among the top 100 schools in the country. In 1961, he received his Bachelor's degree with honors from Harvard University. In 1963, he obtained a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from the University of Oxford in the UK, and four years later, he earned his Ph.D. there.

Academic Career and Contributions

Since 1967, Feldstein has been teaching economics at Harvard University, specializing in macroeconomics and public sector economics. In 1977, he was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal by the American Economic Association, a prestigious recognition given once every two years to economists under the age of 40 who have made significant contributions to the field of economics. According to the IDEAS/RePEc rankings, Feldstein is among the top 10 most influential economists in the world.

Feldstein has authored over 300 scientific articles in the field of economics and has been a pioneer in research on the functioning and sustainability of public pension systems. He is a strong advocate for social security reform and was a driving force behind the initiative for partial privatization of the social security system proposed by former President George W. Bush.

In addition to his significant contributions to the development of public sector economics, Feldstein has also authored numerous articles on macroeconomics. One of his most well-known works in this area is a joint study with Charles Horioka on investment behavior in different countries. They discovered that in the long run, capital tends to stay within its own country, meaning that other countries' economies end up financing their own. This model became known as the Feldstein-Horioka paradox.

Interestingly, in 1997, Feldstein warned in his works about the potentially adverse economic consequences of introducing a single currency (the euro), suggesting that they could outweigh the benefits of trade facilitation and capital flows.

Other Roles and Recognitions

In 2005, Feldstein was considered the leading candidate to succeed Alan Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, primarily due to his previous roles as economic adviser to Presidents Reagan and Bush. However, the position ultimately went to Ben Bernanke.

In March 2007, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation announced that one of the four Bradley Prizes for outstanding achievements would be awarded to Martin Feldstein. Later that year, in September, Feldstein announced his resignation as President of the National Bureau of Economic Research, effective from June 2008.

Currently, Feldstein serves as a member of the Advisory Council in the Department of Defense and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Thirty-First Commission, the Group of Thirty, and the National Committee on United States-China Relations.