New Prize Created for Contributions to Economic Policy

STANFORD, Calif., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) is pleased to announce the creation of a new prize for contributions to economic policy.  Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul A. Volcker will be the first recipient of the SIEPR Prize for Contributions to Economic Policy.  

Economics is fundamentally about efficiently allocating resources so as to maximize the welfare of individuals.  It is about improving people's standard of living.  Economic policies such as taxes, tariffs, regulations, market design, monetary policy, transfer and entitlement programs can improve or harm the welfare of millions, even billions, of people. The SIEPR Prize will recognize those who have made outstanding lifetime contributions to improving the design and conduct of economic policy either in the U.S. or abroad. All contributors to economic policy are eligible to receive this important recognition.

The idea for the SIEPR Prize and the initial funding came from former Secretary of Treasury, Labor and State George P. Shultz and was contributed to by a stellar group of economists. SIEPR's selection committee consists of five outstanding leaders in economic policy – George Shultz, Jim Poterba (President of the National Bureau of Economic Research), John Shoven (Director of SIEPR), and Kenneth Arrow and Gary Becker, both Nobel Prize winners in economics.  

The selection committee determined that Paul A. Volcker exemplifies the type of person deserving to be the first recipient. Volcker served as Undersecretary of Treasury for International Monetary Affairs from 1969-1974 and as President of the New York Federal Reserve from 1975 to 1979. He was appointed Chairman of the Federal Reserve in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter and was reappointed in 1983 by Ronald Reagan. As Chairman of the Federal Reserve, he dramatically changed U.S. monetary policy and broke the inflationary spiral that started in the late 1960s and plagued the American economy throughout the 1970s. Breaking the cycle of inflation required raising short run interest rates to record levels and creating a sharp economic recession. The payoff, however, has lasted for more than a quarter of a century. The country has experienced relatively low and stable inflation ever since the Volcker change in monetary regimes. He has written several books on international and monetary policy and remains heavily engaged in policy making to this day. Currently, he is Chairman of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Volcker is both literally and figuratively a towering figure in the world of contributors to better economic policy.  

The SIEPR prize will be awarded every other year. An event celebrating the winner will take place and it is expected that each new recipient of the SIEPR Prize will give an address at this gathering.   SIEPR has set a goal of raising $1.5 million to endow the prize and we currently have funds or pledges in excess of half of that amount. The recipient of the SIEPR Prize receives an award of $100,000.  For more information about the SIEPR Prize please go to this site: http://siepr.stanford.edu/siepr_prize_information.

SIEPR is an economic policy research organization and is non-partisan in political orientation.  SIEPR scholars conduct research on important economic policy issues in the United States and other countries. SIEPR's goal is to inform and advise policy makers and the public and to guide their decisions with sound policy analysis.  In the course of their research, SIEPR faculty train, educate, and support Ph.D. students as future economic policy analysts.

SOURCE Stanford Institute For Economic Policy Research