Contemporary Authors

ALAN S. BLINDER is the Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He is also Vice Chairman of the Promontory Interfinancial Network, and a regular columnist for The Wall Street Journal.

Alan Blinder
Dr. Blinder served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from June 1994 until January 1996. In this position, he represented the Fed at various international meetings, and was a member of the Board's committees on Bank Supervision and Regulation, Consumer and Community Affairs, and Derivative Instruments. He also chaired the Board in the Chairman's absence. He speaks frequently to financial and other audiences.

Before becoming a member of the Board, Dr. Blinder served as a Member of President Clinton's original Council of Economic Advisers from January 1993 until June 1994. There he was in charge of the Administration's macroeconomic forecasting and also worked intensively on budget, international trade, and health care issues.During presidential campaigns, he has served as economic adviser to Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton. He continues to advise numerous members of Congress and officeholders. He also served briefly as Deputy Assistant Director of the Congressional Budget Office when that agency started in 1975, and testifies frequently before Congress on a wide variety of public policy issues.

Dr. Blinder was born on October 14, 1945, in Brooklyn, New York. He earned his A.B. at Princeton University in 1967, M.Sc. at London School of Economics in 1968, and Ph.D. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1971–all in economics. Dr. Blinder has taught at Princeton since 1971, and chaired the Department of Economics from 1988 to 1990. He was the Founder and either Director or Co-Director of Princeton's Griswold Center for Economic Policy Studies from 1989 to 2011.

Dr. Blinder is the author or co-author of 20 books, including the textbook Economics: Principles and Policy (with William J. Baumol), now in its 13th edition, from which nearly three million college students have learned introductory economics. His latest book, Advice and Dissent: Why America Suffers When Economics and Politics Collide, was published in March 2018 by Basic Books. He has written scores of scholarly articles on such topics as fiscal policy, central banking, offshoring, and the distribution of income. He also appears frequently on PBS, CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg TV, and elsewhere.

Dr. Blinder was previously President of the Eastern Economic Association and Vice President of the American Economic Association. He has been elected a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

He is a member of the board of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the Economic Club of New York, the Bretton Woods Committee, and the Bellagio Group, and a former governor of the American Stock Exchange. Dr. Blinder also serves on academic advisory panels for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Hamilton Project, the Center for America Progress, and the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

Dr. Blinder and his wife, Madeline, live in Princeton, NJ. They have two sons, Scott and William, and three grandsons, Malcolm, Levi, and Arthur.

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29“Those Money-Laden Helicopters Hovering on the Horizon,” The Wall Street Journal, July 7, 2016, A11. “Why Trump, the ‘King of Debt,’ Hates Dodd-Frank,” The Wall Street Journal, June 8, 2016, A13.“Five Big Truths About Trade,” The Wall Street Journal, April 22, 2016, A11. “Trumpism, the Economic Wrecking Ball,” The Wall Street Journal, March 22, 2016, A11.“Markets Are Scaring Themselves,” The Wall Street Journal, January 21, 2016, A13.“A Glimpse of What Bipartisan Compromise Looks Like,” The Wall Street Journal, December 31, 2015, A13.“The Fed’s Lift-Off: Keep Calm and Carry On,” The Wall Street Journal, December 1, 2015, A19.“Don’t Look Back in Anger at Bailouts and Stimulus,” The Wall Street Journal, October 16, 2015, A13. “A Fairness Agenda for Winning Over Angry Voters,” The Wall Street Journal, October 2, 2015, A13. “Overselling the Importance of When the Interest-Rate Rise Begins,” The Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2015, A11. “The Greek Solution Solved Nothing,” The Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2015, A11. “A GOP Budget That Is Truly an ‘Ideological Document’,” The Wall Street Journal, June 19, 2015, A13. “The Mystery of Declining Productivity Growth,” The Wall Street Journal, May 15, 2015, A13. “The Fed Can Be Patient About Raising Interest Rates,” The Wall Street Journal, April 13, 2015, A11.“The GOP’s Political Budget Scorekeeping,” The Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2015, A15.“The Bad Budget Wars Get Ready to Resume,” The Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2015, A11.“Beware of Wooly-Minded Attacks on the Fed,” The Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2015, A15.“Good Medicine for Bad Bankers,” The Wall Street Journal, December 24, 2014, A15.“The Unsettling Mystery of Productivity,” The Wall Street Journal, November 25, 2014, A13.“Petrified paychecks: Seven ways to raise wages,” Washington Monthly, November/December 2014, 29-34; reprinted in Newsweek, January 2, 2015.“Enough with European Austerity, Bring on the Stimulus,” The Wall Street Journal, October 30, 2014, A21.“Behind the Fed’s Dovish Turn on Rates,” The Wall Street Journal, September 23, 2014, A15.
30“The Supply-Side Case for Government Redistribution.” The Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2014, A13.“An Unnecessary Fix for the Fed,” The Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2014, A11. “‘Pikettymania’ and Inequality in the U.S.,” The Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2014, A13.“Fed Hawks vs. Doves: The Sequel,” The Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2014, A13.“A Better Way to Run Rating Agencies,” The Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2014, A11.“A Tax Break Worthy of Bipartisan Cheers,” The Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2014, A15. “ObamaCare Is a Job-Killer? Not at All,” The Wall Street Journal, February 11, 2014, A15.“How Government Wages War on the Poor,” The Wall Street Journal, January 14, 2014, A15. “The Fed Plan to Revive High-Powered Money,” The Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2013, A21.“Despite a Botched Rollout, the Health-Care Law Is Worth It,” The Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2013, A17.“The GOP’s Flirtation with Disaster,” The Wall Street Journal, October 11, 2013, A15.“Five Years Later, Financial Lessons Not Learned,” The Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2013, A15.“Janet Yellen Is the Best Fed Choice,” The Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2013, A13. “The Economy Needs More Spending Now,” The Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2013, A17.“Fiscal Fixes for the Jobless Recovery,” The Wall Street Journal, June 11, 2013, A17.“The Partial Faith and Dubious Credit Act,” The Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2013, A15.“When the Music Stopped: An Excerpt from After the Music Stopped,” The Princeton Financier, Spring 2013, pp. 12-15.“A Good Grade for a Responsible Budget,” The Wall Street Journal, April 12, 2013, A15. “Easing the Angst About Fed Easing,” The Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2013, A15. “Morning Joe’s accuracy deficit,” Politico, March 4, 2013 “A Silver Linings Deficit Playbook,” The Wall Street Journal, February 25, 2013, A15. “How to Worry About the Deficit: (1) Don’t; (2) Wait a Few Years; (3) Then Worry About Healthcare
33“The Case for Optimism on the Economy,” The Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2009.“Threatening the Fed’s Independence,” The Washington Post, November 20, 2009, A23.“How Washington Can Create Jobs,” The Wall Street Journal, November 16, 2009.“Comedy Aside, an Obama Report Card,” The New York Times, October 18, 2009, B6.“The Wait for Financial Reform,” The New York Times, September 6, 2009.“Stay the Stimulus Course,” The Washington Post, August 11, 2009.“An Early-Warning System, Run by the Fed,” The New York Times, July 25, 2009.“The Economy Has Hit Bottom,” The Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2009.“Why Inflation Isn’t the Danger,” The New York Times, June 21, 2009. “Crazy Compensation and the Crisis, The Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2009.“It’s No Time to Stop This Train,” The New York Times, May 1 7, 2009.“The Next 100 Days,” The Washington Post, April 26, 2009.“Restore Order and Win a War,” The New York Times, April 12, 2009.“Obama is No Socialist,” The Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2009.“Nationalize? Hey, Not So Fast,” The New York Times, March 8, 2009.“When Will the Recession End?: It Won’t Last Forever,” The New York Times, March 1, 2009.“My Economic Wish List,” The Wall Street Journal, February 4, 2009.“Six Blunders En Route to a Crisis,” The New York Times, January 25, 2009.“Missing the Target with $700 Billion,” The New York Times, December 21, 2008.“Remember that Capitalism is More than a Spectator Sport,” The New York Times, November 9, 2008. “What should be done next?,” The Washington Post, October 19, 2008.“Blanket Deposit Insurance Is a Bad Idea,” The Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2008 (with R. Glenn Hubbard). “Got $700 Billion? Sweat the Details,” The New York Times, October 12, 2008.
34“FDIC Caps Should Be Retained,” Bloomberg.com, October 3, 2008 (with R. Glenn Hubbard).“Would Obama’s Plan Be Faster, Fairer, Stronger...,” The New York Times, August 31, 2008.“A Modest Proposal: Eco-Friendly Stimulus,” The New York Times, July 27, 2008. “Two Bubbles, Two Paths,” The New York Times, June 15, 2008.“The Case for a Newer Deal,” The New York Times, May 4, 2008.“How to Cast a Mortgage Lifeline,” The New York Times, March 30, 2008. “The Fed Can’t Do It Alone,” The Washington Post, March 18, 2008, p. A19.“From the New Deal, a Way Out of a Mess,” The New York Times, February 24, 2008“Stop the World (and Avoid Reality),” The New York Times, January 6, 2008. “Six Fingers of Blame in the Mortgage Mess,” The New York Times, September 30, 2007.“The Under-Taxed Kings of Private Equity,” The New York Times, July 29, 2007. “Preparing America’s Workforce: Are We Looking in the Rearview Mirror?,” Forum Futures 2007, Forum for the Future of Higher Education, pp. 9-12.“Free Trade’s Great, but Offshoring Rattles Me,” The Washington Post, May 6, 2007, p. B04.“The Economic Front,” The Wall Street Journal, November 21, 2006, p. A16 (with Roger Altman). “Getting Inflation-Fighting Right,” Challenge, Sept./Oct 2006, pp. 6-18.“What sorts of rich-country jobs (and how many) are at risk to globalization?,” CESifo Forum, Summer 2006, pp. 39-40.“Are the Fed Fights Over?,” The New York Times, November 20, 2005. “Bush Plays Humpty Dumpty with Prosperity,” Newsday, August 24, 2004.“Inflation Isn’t Dead, It’s Only Sleeping,” TIAA-CREF Investment Forum, September 2002. “Stocks Are Only Part of the Story,” The New York Times, July 21, 2002.“Private-Public Stimulus,” The Washington Post, December 11, 2001.“The Economic Stimulus We Need,” The New York Times, September 28, 2001.
35“Free Trade Needs a Chance to Sell Itself,” The New York Times, July 29, 2001. “Don’t Write Off Davis Energy Plan,” Los Angeles Times, May 11, 2001.“Bush's Shaky Retirement Plan,” The Washington Post, August 24, 2000 (with Henry Aaron). “Bush Plan Misses Mark,” USA Today, June 21, 2000.“Bush Unties the Social Compact,” The New York Times, May 26, 2000.“How the U.S. Expansion Defies All Odds,” Fortune, April 17, 2000.“Saving the Surplus Will Save Social Security,” The Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2000 (with Frank Newman).“Hide Clouds, No Storm in Sight,” The New York Times, August 24, 1999. “Save It,” The New Republic, August 9, 1999.“Strange but True Economics,” The New York Times, March 9, 1999.“Set to Keep Rollin’ Along,” Financial Times, December 29, 1998.“Where to Focus Our Economic Jitters?”, New York Times, August 25, 1998. “Shrewd Politics, Sound Policy,” The New York Times, March 3, 1998.“A Modest Proposal for Capital Gains,” The Washington Post, June 11, 1997. “Needed: Planet Insurance,” The New York Times, October 22, 1997.“Fed Urged to Be More Forward-Looking,” The Washington Post, May 27, 1997. “Constitutional Clutter,” The Washington Post, February 5, 1997.“Can We Grow Faster?,” Challenge, Nov/Dec 1996, pp. 8-14. “ The Republican Riverboat Gamble,” The New York Times, August 20, 1996. “The Federal Reserve in the Nation's Service,” Princeton Alumni Weekly, June 5, 1996, pp. 22-24. “The $5.15 Question,” The New York Times, May 23, 1996.“How to Run A Central Bank,” The International Economy, Sept./Oct. 1995, pp. 33-35 and 61-63.
36“Princeton Economist Alan Blinder Makes Economics Understandable for All,” The Margin, Fall 1992, pp. 9-11. “A Keynesian Restoration Is Here,” Challenge, September-October 1992, pp. 11-18. “Growing Together,” Princeton Alumni Weekly, March 4, 1992.“In Defense of the Oil Companies,” The Washington Post, September 3, 1990. “Why Does Good Economics Make Bad Politics?,” The Senior Economist, March 1990, pp. 3-4. “Focus on the Deficit is Blocking Critical Long-Term Investments,” Northeast Midwest Economic Review, Vol. 2, No. 15, August 7, 1989, pp. 5-8. “A Tip on Hard-Headed Investing,” State Legislatures, July 1988, p. 46.“Tight Money and Loose Fiscal Policy,” Society, July/August 1987, pp. 80-83. (Reprinted in special 35thAnniversary Issue, Jan./Feb. 1998, pp. 319-323.)“A Bottle Half Full,” Challenge, Nov./Dec. 1986, pp. 51-52. “Monetarism is Obsolete,” Challenge, Sept./Oct., 1981, pp. 35-41 (reprinted in R. D. Bartel (ed.), The Challenge of Economics, 1983). “Tax Cuts and Investment Incentives,” Challenge, Nov./Dec. 1980, pp. 56-57.Plus over 100 other articles in Business Week, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The New York Times and elsewhere, and over 50 televised commentaries on the PBS program Nightly Business Report.