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{{Short description|American economist (1927–2019)}}{{About|the American central banker|the German general|Paul Völckers}}{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}

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Chair of the Federal Reserve>Chairman of the Federal Reserve| president2 = Jimmy CarterRonald Reagan| deputy2 = Frederick H. SchultzPreston MartinManuel H. Johnson| term_start2 = August 6, 1979| term_end2 = August 11, 1987| predecessor2 = G. William Miller| successor2 = Alan Greenspan| office3 = Member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors| president3 = Jimmy CarterRonald Reagan| term_start3 = August 6, 1979| term_end3 = August 11, 1987G. William Miller>William Miller| successor3 = Alan GreenspanList of presidents of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York>President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York| term_start4 = May 2, 1975| term_end4 = August 5, 1979Alfred Hayes (banker)>Alfred Hayes| successor4 = Anthony M. Solomon| birth_name = Paul Adolph Volcker Jr.192705}}| birth_place = Cape May, New Jersey, U.S.201989|05}}| death_place = New York City, U.S.Democratic Party (United States)>DemocraticHTTPS://WWW.NYTIMES.COM/1979/12/02/ARCHIVES/CAN-VOLCKER-STAND-UP-TO-INFLATION-THE-FED-THE-FED.HTML >TITLE=CAN VOLCKER STAND UP TO INFLATION? LAST=HOFFMAN WORK=THE NEW YORK TIMES FIRST=LEONARD DATE=NOVEMBER 8, 1987 ACCESS-DATE=NOVEMBER 30, 2017,

• {{marriage|Barbara Bahnson|September 11, 1954|June 14, 1998|end=died{edih}
• {{marriage|Anke Dening|February 11, 2010}}

}}| children = 2Princeton University (Bachelor of Arts>AB)Harvard University (AM)London School of Economics| caption = Volcker in 2014}}Paul Adolph Volcker Jr. (September 5, 1927 – December 8, 2019) was an American economist who served as the 12th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987. During his tenure as chairman, Volcker was widely credited with having ended the high levels of inflation seen in the United States throughout the 1970s and early 1980s,NEWS, To Treat the Fed as Volcker Did, The New York Times, November 4, 2008,www.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/business/05views.html, November 30, 2017, with measures known as the Volcker shock.WEB, Volcker Shock: key economic indicators 1979-1987, Statista, October 10, 2022,www.statista.com/statistics/1338105/volcker-shock-interest-rates-unemployment-inflation/, October 3, 2023, WEB, Matthews, Dylan, How the Fed ended the last great American inflation — and how much it hurt, Vox, July 13, 2022,www.vox.com/future-perfect/2022/7/13/23188455/inflation-paul-volcker-shock-recession-1970s, October 3, 2023, WEB, Wolf, Zachary B., This kind of shock to the economy will have consequences, CNN, July 27, 2022,www.cnn.com/2022/07/27/politics/fed-interest-rate-volcker-what-matters/index.html, October 3, 2023, He previously served as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1975 to 1979.President Jimmy Carter nominated him to succeed G. William Miller as Fed chairman and President Ronald Reagan renominated him once. Volcker did not seek a third term at the Fed and was succeeded by Alan Greenspan. After his retirement from the Board, he chaired the Economic Recovery Advisory Board under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2011 during the subprime mortgage crisis.PRESS RELEASE,obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/obama-announces-economic-advisory-board, Obama Announces Economic Advisory Board, February 6, 2009, White House Press Office,

Early life and education

Volcker was born in Cape May, New Jersey, the son of Alma Louise (née Klippel, 1892–1990) and Paul Adolph Volcker (1889–1960).Treaster (2004), pp. 87–92. All his grandparents were of German origin. Volcker grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, where his father was the township’s first municipal manager. Paul Sr. thrived in the role for 20 years as he improved the burgeoning town’s economic stability and the local government’s effectiveness.WEB,www.teaneck.org/virtualvillage/centennial/teaneckhistory.htm, Looking Back on the History of Teaneck, Teaneck Public Library, Robert, Griffin, September 16, 2018, September 17, 2018,www.teaneck.org/virtualvillage/centennial/teaneckhistory.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20180917105211www.teaneck.org/virtualvillage/centennial/teaneckhistory.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20180917105211www.teaneck.org/virtualvillage/centennial/teaneckhistory.htm, dead, Paul Jr. had four older sisters: Ruth (1916–1991), Louise (1918–1966), Elinor (1922–1923) and Virginia Streitfeld (1924–2011). As a child, he attended his mother’s Lutheran church, while his father went to an Episcopal church. Volcker graduated from Teaneck High School in 1945, where he participated in several student groups and impressed his peers and teachers with his knowledge of politics.WEB, Ancestry.com, Teaneck High School Yearbook, Volcker attended Princeton University as an undergraduate student and graduated with highest honors from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (now the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) in 1949. In his senior thesis, titled “The Problems of Federal Reserve Policy since World War II”, Volcker criticized the Federal Reserve’s post-WWII policies for failing to curb inflationary pressures, writing, “a swollen money supply presented a grave inflationary threat to the economy. There was a need to bring this money supply under control if the disastrous effects of a sharp price rise were to be avoided.“THESIS, Paul, Volcker, The Problems of Federal Reserve Policy since World War II, 1949,arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp019019s3255, WEB,www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/01/the-integrity-and-will-of-ten-men-the-life-of-paul-volcker-49-obit, ‘The integrity and will of ten men’: the life of Paul Volcker ‘49, The Princetonian, JOURNAL,catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/dsp019019s3255, The Problems of Federal Reserve Policy since World War II, Jr., Paul Adolf, Volcker, catalog.princeton.edu, Following a summer as a research assistant at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, he moved to Harvard University to earn an M.A. in political economy from its Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Graduate School of Public Administration. He worked a second summer as a New York Fed research assistant before graduating in 1951. After Harvard, Volcker attended the London School of Economics from 1951 to 1952 as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Fellow under Rotary’s Ambassadorial Scholarships program.WEB, Paul A. Volcker,www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/PVolckerbio.html, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, September 16, 2018,

Career

In 1952, Volcker joined the staff of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as a full-time economist. He left that position in 1957 to become a financial economist with the Chase Manhattan Bank. In 1962, Robert Roosa, who had been his mentor at the Federal Reserve, hired him at the Treasury Department as director of financial analysis.Treaster (2004), p. 38. In 1963, he became deputy under secretary for monetary affairs. He returned to Chase Manhattan Bank as vice president and director of planning in 1965.BOOK, Santow, Leonard Jay, 2009, Do They Walk on Water?: Federal Reserve Chairmen and the Fed,books.google.com/books?id=TNRziBivjOQC&q=paul+volcker+Chase+Manhattan+Bank+vice+president+and+director+of+planning&pg=PA95, ABC-CLIO, 95-105, 9780313360336, Appointed by the Nixon Administration, Volcker served under secretary of the Treasury for international monetary affairs from 1969 to 1974. He played an important role in President Richard Nixon’s decision to suspend gold convertibility of the dollar on August 15, 1971, which resulted in the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. Volcker considered the suspension of gold convertibility “the single most important event of his career.“Silber (2012) p. 2. Because of his position as under secretary, Volcker served as a board member for OPIC and Fannie Mae.REPORT, Nomination of Paul A. Volcker Hearing before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, United States Senate, Ninety-Sixth Congress, First Session, on the Nomination of Paul A. Volcker, to Be Chairman, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System, July 30, 1979, 52, Across the policies he worked on, he acted as a moderating influence on policy, advocating the pursuit of an international solution to monetary problems and acting as a negotiator with other nations’ policymakers.NEWS, Balm for Business: Volcker’s Nomination As Chairman of the Fed Is Being Widely Hailed, Wall Street Journal, Greg, Conderacci, Richard F., Janssen, Richard F. Janssen, July 26, 1979, After leaving the U.S. Treasury, he spent a year as a senior fellow at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School (his alma mater). In 1975, he became President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and he retained that role until he became Federal Reserve Chairman in August 1979.

Chairman of the Federal Reserve

File:Portrait of Paul A. Volcker by Luis Alvarez Roure.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Paul A. Volcker by Luis Alvarez RoureLuis Alvarez RoureAfter G. William Miller’s confirmation as Secretary of the Treasury, President Jimmy Carter’s confirmation of Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Frederick H. Schultz’s role as Acting Chairman sent markets panicking. Carter resultingly sought a reassuring, qualified nominee who would confront inflation head-on, and nominated Paul Volcker to serve as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on July 25, 1979.BOOK, Greider, William, Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country, 1989, Simon & Schuster, WEB, President Jimmy Carter, Federal Reserve System Nomination of Paul A. Volcker To Be Chairman of the Board of Governors,www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=32648, July 25, 1979, November 30, 2017, December 7, 2017,www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=32648," title="web.archive.org/web/20171207173645www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=32648,">web.archive.org/web/20171207173645www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=32648, dead, He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 2, 1979, and took office on August 6, 1979.WEB,www.nytimes.com/1979/08/03/archives/senate-confirms-miller-and-volcker.html, Senate Confirms Miller and Volcker, August 3, 1979, The New York Times, November 30, 2017, President Ronald Reagan renominated Volcker to a second term in 1983.NEWS, Robert D. Hershey Jr.,www.nytimes.com/1987/06/03/business/volcker-out-after-8-years-as-federal-reserve-chief-reagan-chooses-greenspan.html, Volcker Out after 8 Years as Federal Reserve Chief; Reagan Chooses Greenspan, The New York Times, June 3, 1987, November 30, 2017, WEB,www.cfr.org/experts/paul-volcker, Paul A. Volcker – Council on Foreign Relations, Cfr.org, March 12, 2011, Inflation emerged as an economic and political challenge in the United States during the 1970s. The monetary policies of the Federal Reserve board, led by Volcker, were widely credited with curbing the rate of inflation and expectations that inflation would continue. US inflation, which peaked at 14.8 percent in March 1980, fell below 3 percent by 1983.WEB,data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUUR0000SA0?output_view=pct_12mths, Bureau of Labor Statistics Data, November 30, 2017, The Federal Reserve board led by Volcker raised the federal funds rate, which had averaged 11.2% in 1979, to a peak of 20% in June 1981. The prime rate rose to 21.5% in 1981 as well, which helped lead to the 1980–1982 recession,NBER, US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012231548www.nber.org/cycles/ |date=October 12, 2007 }} in which the national unemployment rate rose to over 10%. In addition to the rises in key interest rates, the so-called ‘Volcker shock’ included monetarist-inspired policies, such as monetary targeting. Despite the fact that monetarist economists did not recognize Volcker policies to be totally monetarist, some members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) claimed to follow monetarist principles. Reichart Alexandre & Slifi Abdelkader [2016], ‘The Influence of Monetarism on Federal Reserve policy during the 1980s’, Papers in Political Economy/Cahiers d’Économie Politique, 70 (1), pp. 106-150 Volcker’s Federal Reserve board elicited the strongest political attacks and most widespread protests in the history of the Federal Reserve (unlike any protests experienced since 1922), due to the effects of high interest rates on the construction, farming, and industrial sectors, culminating in indebted farmers driving their tractors onto C Street NW in Washington, D.C. and blockading the Eccles Building.Shull, Bernard. 2005. The Fourth Branch: The Federal Reserve’s Unlikely Rise To Power And Influence. Praeger/Greenwood. {{ISBN|1-56720-624-7}}. p. 142. US monetary policy eased in 1982, helping lead to a resumption of economic growth.The US current account was in permanent deficit by the 1990s. Volcker himself tried to remedy the situation by the Plaza Accord in 1986, which called for Germany and Japan to revalue relative to the US dollar.Paul Volcker and Toyoo Gyohten (1992). Changing Fortunes.The combination of the Fed’s tight money policies and the expansive fiscal policy of the Reagan Administration (large tax cuts and a major increase in military spending) produced large federal budget deficits and significant macroeconomic imbalances in the U.S. economy. The combination of growing federal debt and high interest rates led to a substantial rise in federal net interest costs. The sharp rise of interest costs and large deficits led Congress to take some steps towards fiscal constraint.“Volcker: The Triumph of Persistence (Bloomsbury Press; 2012) 454 pages, p. 8.“Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz said about him in an interview:Paul Volcker, the previous Fed Chairman known for keeping inflation under control, was fired because the Reagan administration didn’t believe he was an adequate de-regulator.Gardels, Nathan. Stiglitz: The Fall of Wall Street Is to Market Fundamentalism What the Fall of the Berlin Wall Was to..., HuffPost, September 16, 2008. Retrieved November 30, 2017.Congressman Ron Paul, well known as a harsh critic of the Federal Reserve, offered qualified praise of Volcker:Being in Congress in the late 1970s and early 1980s and serving on the House Banking Committee, I met and got to question several Federal Reserve chairmen: Arthur Burns, G. William Miller, and Paul Volcker. Of the three, I had the most interaction with Volcker. He was more personable and smarter than the others, including the more recent board chairmen Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke.Chan, Sewell (December 11, 2010). “The Fed? Ron Paul’s Not a Fan”. The New York Times. Retrieved November 30, 2017.In 1983, Volcker received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.WEB,www.jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national, Jefferson Awards Foundation, November 30, 2017,jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national," title="web.archive.org/web/20101124043935jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national,">web.archive.org/web/20101124043935jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national, November 24, 2010, dead,

Post-Federal Reserve

File:Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker and Ben Bernanke - 2014 (13896577879).jpg|thumb|right|Volcker in 2014 with Alan Greenspan and Ben BernankeBen BernankeAfter leaving the Federal Reserve in 1987, he became chairman of the prominent New York investment banking firm, Wolfensohn & Co., a corporate advisory and investment firm run by James D. Wolfensohn (who later became President of the World Bank).WEB,www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/business/paul-a-volcker-dead.html, Paul A. Volcker, Fed Chairman Who Waged War on Inflation, Is Dead at 92, Appelbaum, Binyamin, Hershey, Robert D. Jr., December 9, 2019, The New York Times, December 12, 2019, WEB,www.ibtimes.com/paul-volcker-us-fed-chief-who-led-war-inflation-dead-92-2882103, Paul Volcker, US Fed Chief Who Led War On Inflation, Dead At 92, Montet, Virginie, December 9, 2019, IBTimes.com, December 12, 2019, In 1992, Volcker was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.WEB, Paul A. Volcker,www.amacad.org/person/paul-volcker, December 6, 2021, American Academy of Arts & Sciences, en, In 1993 he chaired the Group of 30 Report on the Derivatives market entitled “Derivatives: Practices and Principles“WEB,group30.org/images/uploads/publications/G30_Derivatives-Surveys.pdf, Derivatives Practices and Principles, November 30, 2017, with several appendices and a survey on how practices may have changed since the original 1993 report.WEB,www.group30.org/rpt_27.shtml, Derivatives: Practices and Principles: Follow-up Surveys of Industry Practice,www.group30.org/rpt_27.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20150924023818www.group30.org/rpt_27.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20150924023818www.group30.org/rpt_27.shtml, September 24, 2015, dead, The Group of 30 is a “consultative group on international economic and monetary affairs.” Volcker was their Chairman emeritus.WEB,group30.org/members, Group of 30 Current Members, November 30, 2017, In 1996, he took up the chair of the Independent Committee of Eminent Persons (Volcker Commission) to look into the dormant accounts of Jewish victims of the Holocaust lying in Swiss banks. This included a “massive accounting of Swiss bank records.” In the midst of a contentious process (the committee was formed by three Jewish representatives and three representatives of Swiss banks), he was able to bring about an agreement among the parties for a settlement of $1.25 billion.Treaster (2004), p. x.Volcker was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1992.In 2000 he accepted the Chairmanship of the IFRS Trustees, the not-for-profit funding arm of the International Accounting Standards Board (later the IFRS Foundation). The IFRS Foundation is a private sector enterprise based in London which seeks to develop a single global accounting model, subject to adoption country by country under their rules of law.WEB,www.ifrs.org/About-us/IFRS-Foundation/Oversight/Annual-reports/Documents/1Trustees_AR_2011.pdf, Annual Report of the IFRS Trustees Foundation, dead,www.ifrs.org/About-us/IFRS-Foundation/Oversight/Annual-reports/Documents/1Trustees_AR_2011.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20150911225341www.ifrs.org/About-us/IFRS-Foundation/Oversight/Annual-reports/Documents/1Trustees_AR_2011.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20150911225341www.ifrs.org/About-us/IFRS-Foundation/Oversight/Annual-reports/Documents/1Trustees_AR_2011.pdf, September 11, 2015, In April 2004, the United Nations assigned Volcker to research possible corruption in the Iraqi Oil for Food program. In the report summarizing its research, Volcker criticized Kojo Annan, son of then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and the Swiss company Cotecna Inspection SA, Kojo’s employer, for trying to conceal their relationship. He concluded in his March 2005, report that “there is no evidence that the selection of Cotecna, in 1998, was subject to improper influence of the Secretary General in the bidding or selection process.“Independent Inquiry Committee into the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme – Second Interim Report (29 March 2005) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805032019www.iic-offp.org/documents/InterimReportMar2005.pdf |date=August 5, 2009 }} p.77. While Volcker did not implicate the Secretary General in the selection process, however, he did cast serious doubt on Kofi Annan, whose “management performance ... fell short of the standards that the United Nations Organization should strive to maintain.“Traub, James. 2006. The Best Intentions: Kofi Annan and the UN in the Era of American Power. New York: Picardor, n.d., p. 420. Volcker was a director of the United Nations Association of the United States of America between 2000 and 2004,NEWS, Miller, Judith, Preston, Julia, 2 Inquiries on Iraq Aid Are at Odds, January 31, 2005, The New York Times,www.nytimes.com/2005/01/31/world/middleeast/2-inquiries-on-iraq-aid-are-at-odds.html, December 16, 2019, In a report last week, the conservative Heritage Foundation contended that Mr. Volcker had a conflict of interest that ‘threatens his credibility’ as head of the commission because he had not disclosed that he was a director of the United Nations Association of the United States of America, which the report called ‘a pro-U.N. advocacy group.’, WEB, The Volcker Investigation into the U.N. Oil-for-Food Scandal: WhyIt Lacks Credibility, February 1, 2005, The Heritage Foundation,www.heritage.org/node/17485/print-display, December 16, 2019, When Volcker was appointed to head the Oil-for-Food investigation in April 2004, it was not widely known by the public, the world’s media, and the U.S. Congress that he was a director of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) and the Business Council for the United Nations (BCUN). Volcker is listed as a director in the 2003-2004 UNA-USA annual report,[12] as well as in the annual reports for 2001-2002 and 2000-2001.[13], prior to his being appointed to the Independent Inquiry by Kofi Annan.WEB, The Volcker Interim Report on the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Ninth Congress, First Session, February 9, 2005, U.S. Government Printing Office, 2005,www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-109hhrg98601/pdf/CHRG-109hhrg98601.pdf, 11, December 16, 2019, It is inconceivable that Kofi Annan was unaware of Mr. Volcker’s close ties to the United Nations Association when he appointed him to head the Oil-for-Food investigation, and it could well have been an important factor influencing his decision., As of October 2006, he was the chairman of the board of trustees of the influential Washington-based financial advisory body, the Group of Thirty, and a member of the Trilateral Commission. He had a long association with the Rockefeller family, not only with his positions at Chase Bank and the Trilateral Commission, but also through membership of the trust committee of Rockefeller Group, Inc., which he joined in 1987. That entity managed, at one time, the Rockefeller Center on behalf of the numerous members of the Rockefeller family. He was a chairman and an honorary trustee of International House, the cultural exchange residence and program center in New York City. He was a founding member of the Trilateral Commission and a long-time member of the Bilderberg Group.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}}In January 2008, he endorsed Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama in the upcoming presidential election.NEWS, Calmes, Jackie, Volcker Joins List of Obama Backers, Washington Wire, The Wall Street Journal, January 31, 2008,blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/01/31/volcker-joins-list-of-obama-backers/, November 30, 2017, On April 8, 2008, he was the featured speaker at The Economic Club of New York. Volcker discussed “what appears to be in substance a direct transfer of mortgage and mortgage-backed securities of questionable pedigree from an investment bank to the Federal Reserve,” and offered his detailed analysis and evaluation of interrelationships among the U.S. capital markets, Federal Reserve policies, and the economy as whole.The Economic Club of New York: April 8, 2008, Transcript 101st Year, 395th Meeting, (8 April 2008) p. 2, and pp. 5–8.Paul Volcker appeared in the Charles Ferguson’s movie Inside Job. He was interviewed about current Wall Street CEO pay, claiming it is “excessive.“101st Year, 395th Meeting, (8 April 2008) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081031090245econclubny.org/files/Transcript_Volcker_April_2008.pdf |date=October 31, 2008 }} pp. 2, 5–8.Volcker was an economic advisor to President Barack Obama, heading the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.WEB,finance.townhall.com/columnists/larrykudlow/2008/06/27/wheres_bernankes_inner_volcker?page=full&comments=true, Kudlow, Lawrence, Where’s Bernanke’s Inner Volcker?, Townhall.com, June 27, 2008, November 30, 2017, bot: unknown,finance.townhall.com/columnists/larrykudlow/2008/06/27/wheres_bernankes_inner_volcker?page=full&comments=true," title="archive.today/20120918201946finance.townhall.com/columnists/larrykudlow/2008/06/27/wheres_bernankes_inner_volcker?page=full&comments=true,">archive.today/20120918201946finance.townhall.com/columnists/larrykudlow/2008/06/27/wheres_bernankes_inner_volcker?page=full&comments=true, September 18, 2012, NEWS, October 15, 2008, Transcript of Third Presidential Debate,elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/debates/transcripts/third-presidential-debate.html, November 30, 2017, WEB,change.gov/newsroom/entry/president_elect_barack_obama_establishes_presidents_economic_recovery_advis/, “President-elect Barack Obama establishes President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board” change.gov, Change.gov, November 26, 2008, March 12, 2011,change.gov/newsroom/entry/president_elect_barack_obama_establishes_presidents_economic_recovery_advis/," title="web.archive.org/web/20110224144943change.gov/newsroom/entry/president_elect_barack_obama_establishes_presidents_economic_recovery_advis/,">web.archive.org/web/20110224144943change.gov/newsroom/entry/president_elect_barack_obama_establishes_presidents_economic_recovery_advis/, February 24, 2011, dead, Volcker had also been Obama’s first pick as United States Secretary of the Treasury, but he was considered too old.BOOK, Tooze, Adam, Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World, 2018, Viking, 978-0-670-02493-3, New York, New York, 200, 1039188461, During the financial crisis, Volcker was extremely critical of banks, saying that their response to the financial crisis was inadequate, and that more regulation of banks is called for.NEWS, Werdigier, Julia, Volcker Criticizes Calls to Limit Bank Regulation, The New York Times, December 8, 2009,dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/volcker-criticizes-calls-to-limit-financial-regulation/, November 30, 2017, NEWS, Murray, Alan, Paul Volcker: Think More Boldly, The Wall Street Journal, December 14, 2009,www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704825504574586330960597134, November 30, 2017, NEWS, Rose, Charlie, Paul Volcker: The Lion Lets Loose, Business Week, December 30, 2009,www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2009-12-30/paul-volcker-the-lion-lets-loose, November 30, 2017, Specifically, Volcker called for a break-up of the nation’s largest banks, prohibiting deposit-taking institutions from engaging in riskier activities such as proprietary trading, private equity, and hedge fund investments (see Volcker Rule).NEWS, Johnson, Simon, Paul Volcker Finds a Hammer, The New York Times, December 17, 2009,economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/paul-volcker-finds-a-hammer/, November 30, 2017, NEWS, McGrane, Victoria, ‘Big is bad’ catches on in Congress, The Politico, January 4, 2010,www.politico.com/story/2010/01/big-is-bad-catches-on-in-congress-031148, November 30, 2017, Volcker left the board when its charter expired on February 6, 2011, without being included in discussions on how the board would be reconstituted.NEWS, Onaran, Yalman, Volcker Sidelined as Obama Reshapes Economic Advisory Panel, Bloomberg L.P., Bloomberg, January 6, 2010,www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-01-06/volcker-sidelined-as-obama-reshapes-economic-panel-for-business-outreach, November 30, 2017, On January 21, 2010, President Barack Obama proposed bank regulations which he dubbed “The Volcker Rule,” in reference to Volcker’s aggressive pursuit of these regulations.NEWS,www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012104935.html, Obama’s ‘Volcker Rule’ shifts power away from Geithner, David Cho, and Binyamin Appelbaum, January 22, 2010, The Washington Post, November 30, 2017, Volcker appeared with the president at the announcement. The proposed rules would prevent commercial banks from owning and investing in hedge funds and private equity, and limit the trading they do for their own accounts.NEWS, Conway, Brendan, ‘Volcker Plan’ Bank Units Worth Tens Of Billions, Dow Jones & Company, January 26, 2010,online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100126-712362.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines, January 27, 2010,online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100126-712362.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines," title="web.archive.org/web/20100130105043online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100126-712362.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines,">web.archive.org/web/20100130105043online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100126-712362.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines, January 30, 2010, dead, According to SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar, “[t]he success or failure of the Volcker Rule will depend on the manner in which banking entities comply with the letter and spirit of the rule, and on the willingness of regulators to enforce it.“NEWS, Aguilar, Luis, Statement on the Volcker Rule: Reducing Systemic Risk By Banning Excessive Proprietary Trading with Depositors’ Money, December 10, 2013,www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/2013-spch121013laa, November 30, 2017, Volcker was known to defy the stereotype of a Wall Street insider. A profile in The Week for February 5, 2010, stated that Volcker does not agree with the conventional wisdom that “financial innovation” is necessary for a healthy economy. In fact, he likes to say, “the only useful banking innovation was the invention of the ATM.“”Spotlight” in The Week, 2010 February 5 (Volume 10 Issue 449), p. 38.On April 6, 2010, at the New-York Historical Society’s Global Economic Panel, Volcker commented that the United States should consider adding a national sales tax similar to the Value Added Tax (VAT) imposed in European countries, stating “If, at the end of the day, we need to raise taxes, we should raise taxes.“NEWS, Geoff Earle, Tony Davenport,nypost.com/2010/04/07/bam-man-pitching-national-sales-tax/, Bam man pitching national sales tax, New York Post, April 7, 2010, November 30, 2017, In 2011, Volcker and former Secretary of State George Shultz authored an article in The Wall Street Journal voicing their opinion that the War on Drugs had failed. They did not advocate for the legalization of drugs, but rather for a reexamination of the costs of drug prohibition in the United States.NEWS, Volcker, George P. Shultz And Paul A., June 11, 2011, A Real Debate About Drug Policy, en-US, Wall Street Journal,online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304392704576377514098776094.html, June 17, 2022, 0099-9660, In 2015, Volcker donated his public service papers to Princeton University’s Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library.WEB, Former Federal Reserve chairman Volcker donates public service papers to Princeton,www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S44/35/41M54/index.xml?section=topstories, Princeton University, November 30, 2017,

World Justice Project

Volcker served as an honorary co-chairman for the World Justice Project. The World Justice Project works to lead a global, multi-disciplinary effort to strengthen the rule of law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}}

Volcker Alliance

In 2013, Volcker founded the nonprofit organization the Volcker Alliance to address the challenge of effective execution of public policies and to rebuild public trust in government.WEB,www.forbes.com/sites/miguelforbes/2015/05/12/paul-volcker-launches-volcker-alliance/, Paul Volcker Launches Volcker Alliance, May 12, 2015, Forbes, NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/business/volcker-plans-to-restore-faith-in-government.html, Volcker Plans to Restore Faith in Government, Schwartz, Nelson D., May 29, 2013, The New York Times, March 19, 2018, en-US, 0362-4331, The nonpartisan Alliance works toward that objective by partnering with other organizations—academic, business, governmental, and public interest—to strengthen professional education for public service, conduct needed research on government performance, and improve the efficiency and accountability of governmental organization at the federal, state, and local levels.NEWS,www.volckeralliance.org/our-mission, Our Mission, November 4, 2014, The Volcker Alliance, March 19, 2018, en,

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Volcker served on the board of directors of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.WEB,www.crfb.org/board-members/, Board Members, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, April 25, 2016, October 22, 2019, The nonpartisan organization is “committed to educating the public on issues with significant fiscal policy impact.“WEB,www.crfb.org/about-us, About Us, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, August 4, 2009, October 22, 2019,

Personal life

Volcker married Barbara Bahnson, the daughter of a physician, on September 11, 1954. They had two children, Janice, a nurse and a Georgetown University graduate,NEWS, Janice Volcker Is Married, The New York Times, September 20, 1981,www.nytimes.com/1981/09/20/style/janice-volcker-is-married.html, November 30, 2017, and James, a research assistant and a New York University graduateNEWS, WEDDINGS; Martha DeJong and James Volcker, The New York Times, August 1, 1993,www.nytimes.com/1993/08/01/style/weddings-martha-dejong-and-james-volcker.html, November 30, 2017, who was born with cerebral palsy. They also had four grandchildren.Treaster (2004), pp. 83, 86, 110.NEWS, Paid Notice: Deaths: VOLCKER, BARBARA, The New York Times, June 16, 1998,www.nytimes.com/1998/06/16/classified/paid-notice-deaths-volcker-barbara.html, November 30, 2017, WEB, Speakers Platform Speakers Bureau: Paul Volcker, Keynote Speaker On: Economics, Global Affairs, Finance / Tax, Speakers Platform,www.speaking.com/speakers/paulvolcker.html, March 25, 2008,www.speaking.com/speakers/paulvolcker.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20080223095529www.speaking.com/speakers/paulvolcker.html,">web.archive.org/web/20080223095529www.speaking.com/speakers/paulvolcker.html, February 23, 2008, dead, His younger sister died young, and two of his three older sisters, Louise and Ruth, never married. His other older sister, Virginia, was married to and divorced from Harold Streitfeld; they have five children.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=t0y96IB9jsQC&q=divorce&pg=PT114, Paul Volcker: The Making of a Financial Legend, Treaster, Joseph B., August 24, 2011, John Wiley & Sons, 9781118160855, en, Volcker was an avid fly-fisherman,NEWS, Faber, Eberhard, Fishing with Volcker, Fortune Magazine, 4, CNN, September 29, 1986,money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1986/09/29/68064/index.htm, December 22, 2009, who recounted in 1987, “The greatest strategic error of my adult life was to take my wife to Maine on our honeymoon on a fly-fishing trip.“NEWS, Lyons, Nick, Gone off fly-fishing, The New York Times, May 3, 1987,www.nytimes.com/1987/05/03/magazine/gone-off-fly-fishing.html, November 30, 2017, NEWS, Russell, George, The New Mr. Dollar, Time Magazine, 4, Time Inc., June 15, 1987,content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964650-4,00.html, November 30, 2017, Volcker was known as “Tall Paul” for his height of {{convert|6|ft|7|in|m|2}},Freeland, Chrystia (April 11, 2008). Man in the News: Paul Volcker. Financial Times. Retrieved on November 27, 2008, from WEB,us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto041120081500308382, FT.com - Man in the News: Paul Volcker, November 27, 2008, dead,us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto041120081500308382," title="web.archive.org/web/20080513101533us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto041120081500308382,">web.archive.org/web/20080513101533us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto041120081500308382, May 13, 2008, .NEWS, Cuff, Daniel F., BUSINESS PEOPLE; Of Volcker’s Laundry and Fiscal Restraint, The New York Times, September 3, 1987,www.nytimes.com/1987/09/03/business/business-people-of-volcker-s-laundry-and-fiscal-restraint.html, November 30, 2017, standing exactly a foot (30 cm) taller than his first wife, Barbara, when they first met. She died on June 14, 1998, having suffered from lifelong diabetes, as well as rheumatoid arthritis. Over Thanksgiving, 2009, he became engaged to Anke Dening, a long-time assistant.NEWS, Paul Volcker is Engaged!,money.cnn.com/2009/12/24/magazines/fortune/volcker_marriage.fortune/index.htm, CNN, December 24, 2009, November 30, 2017, Carol, Loomis, They married in February 2010.Caren Bohan, Kristina Cooke: NEWS,www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62B2YN20100312?type=politicsNews, Cheap cigars, politics and the Volcker Rule, Reuters, March 12, 2010, November 30, 2017,

Death

Volcker died in New York City on December 8, 2019, at age 92. He had reportedly been treated for prostate cancer since being diagnosed the year prior.NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/business/paul-a-volcker-dead.html, Paul A. Volcker, Fed Chairman Who Waged War on Inflation, Is Dead at 92, The New York Times, Appelbaum, Binyin, Hershey, Robert D. Jr., December 9, 2019, December 9, 2019,

Honorary degrees

Volcker received honorary degrees from several educational institutions, including: Baytown Christian Academy, Hamilton College (1980), University of Notre Dame, Princeton University, Dartmouth College, New York University, University of Delaware,WEB,www.udconnection.com/Awards/University/Honorary-Degrees, Honorary Degrees / UD Alumni Relations, Udconnection.com, March 12, 2011,www.udconnection.com/Awards/University/Honorary-Degrees," title="web.archive.org/web/20110716121313www.udconnection.com/Awards/University/Honorary-Degrees,">web.archive.org/web/20110716121313www.udconnection.com/Awards/University/Honorary-Degrees, July 16, 2011, dead, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Bryant College, Adelphi University, Lamar University, Bates College (1989), Fairfield University (1994), York University (2001), Williams College (2003),WEB,president.williams.edu/honorary-degrees/?ffp=2, Honorary Degrees, Office of the President, Northwestern University (2004), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2005), Brown University (2006), Georgetown University (2007), Syracuse University (2008),www.syr.edu/news/archive/story.php?id=4999" title="web.archive.org/web/20130105005332www.syr.edu/news/archive/story.php?id=4999">Syracuse University honorary degrees 2008 Queen’s University (2009), Amherst College (2011), and at the University of Toronto (2015).NEWS,www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/news/news_releases/2011/05/node/311439, Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker to Be Honored at Amherst College Commencement May 22, Amherst College, May 3, 2011, November 30, 2017, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, where Volker served on the advisory board from 2001 until his death, established the “Paul Volcker Chair” in Behavioral economics in 2011.PRESS RELEASE, Leonhardt, Jill, Maxwell School to Establish Paul Volcker Chair in Behavioral Economics,www.maxwell.syr.edu/news.aspx?id=77309419782, September 6, 2021, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, September 20, 2011, en, MAGAZINE, Rodgers, Jeffrey Pepper, Shared Priorities. Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker maintains a long-standing association with Maxwell because he thinks Maxwell does public service right., Maxwell Perspective, July 11, 2017,www.maxwell.syr.edu/news/perspective/shared-priorities/, September 6, 2021, en,

Works

• Changing Fortunes, Paul Volcker and Toyoo Gyohten, Crown, May 26, 1992, {{ISBN|978-1-58648-752-2}}
• Forbes Great Minds Of Business, Fred Smith, Peter Lynch, Andrew Grove, Paul Volcker (Author), Pleasant Rowland, John Wiley and Paul A. Volcker, Simon and Schuster Audio, October 1, 1997, {{ISBN|978-0-671-57722-3}}
• Good Intentions Corrupted: The Oil for Food Scandal And the Threat to the U.N., Paul Volcker, Jeffrey A. Meyer and Mark G. Califano, Public Affairs Gorgias Press, August 28, 2006, {{ISBN|978-1-58648-472-9}}
• Keeping at it: The Quest for Sound Money and Good Government (Memoir); Public Affairs 2018, {{ISBN|978-1541788312}nytimes.com: Paul Volcker, at 91, Sees {{’}}a Hell of a Mess in Every Direction{{’}}

In popular culture

The political rock band Volcker from Portland, Oregon, formed in early 2015, was named after him.WEB,www.volcker.org, สล็อต ฟรีเครดิต ไม่ต้องฝาก ต้อง แชร์ ถอนได้ 2020, It released an eponymous album on January 27, 2016.WEB,volcker.bandcamp.com/album/gorge-on-fire, Gorge on Fire, by Volcker, Volcker, December 18, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20181218193514/https://volcker.bandcamp.com/album/gorge-on-fire, December 18, 2018, dead, The band was featured on BBC Radio 4’s Economics with Subtitles on August 28, 2016.WEB,www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bg9zvb, Coffins Full of Car Keys, Series 1, Economics with Subtitles, BBC Radio 4, en-GB, August 28, 2018,

See also

• Distinguished German-American of the Year
• List of U.S. political appointments that crossed party lines
• Volcker Rule

References

{{Reflist}}

Sources

• BOOK, Morris, Charles R., Charles R. Morris, 2009, The Sages: Warren Buffett, George Soros, Paul Volcker, and the Maelstrom of Markets, PublicAffairs, 978-1-58648-752-2,archive.org/details/sageswarrenbuffe00morr_0,
• BOOK, Silber, William L., William L. Silber, 2013, Volcker: The Triumph of Persistence, Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury Press, 978-1-620-40292-4,archive.org/details/isbn_9781608193929,
• BOOK, Treaster, Joseph, 2004, Paul Volcker: The Making of a Financial Legend, John Wiley Sons, Hoboken, N.J., 978-0-471-42812-1,
• BOOK, Meltzer, Allan H., Allan H. Meltzer, A History of the Federal Reserve – Volume 2, Book 2: 1970–1986, 2009, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 707–1243, 978-0226213514,

External links

• Paul Volcker Interview
• Official biography from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
• www.iic-offp.org/" title="web.archive.org/web/20180418134857www.iic-offp.org/">The Independent Inquiry Committee into The United Nations’ Oil-for-Food Program official website
• {{C-SPAN|484}}
• {{Charlie Rose view|239}}
• {{IMDb name|1352862}}
• {{New York Times topic|people/v/paul_a_volcker}}
• Interview transcript from PBS Commanding Heights, September 26, 2000
• www.heritage.org/Research/InternationalOrganizations/wm729.cfm" title="web.archive.org/web/20060914144925www.heritage.org/Research/InternationalOrganizations/wm729.cfm">Time for Paul Volcker To Resign, Nile Gardiner, PhD, The Heritage Foundation, April 21, 2005
• Current Economic Recovery Fragile, Corporations Undergo “Healthy Changes,” Former Fed Chair Paul Volcker Says in Ubben Lecture, Paul Volcker, DePauw University, October 8, 2003
• www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120091942/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0" title="archive.today/20130105060854www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120091942/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0">Rethinking the Bright New World of Global Finance, Paul Volcker, International Finance, Spring 2008
• How to Reform Our Financial System, Paul Volcker, The New York Times, January 30, 2010
• Statements and Speeches of Paul A. Volcker in FRASER
• Paul A. Volcker Papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University
• Former Fed Chairman Blasts McKinsey and Hedge-Fund Billionaires
• “Other People’s Blood”, Tim Barker, n+1, Spring 2019

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