Anna J. Schwartz
Anna Jacobson Schwartz (born November 11, 1915 in New York City , † June 21, 2012 there ) was an American economist . She became known when she and her mentor Milton Friedman wrote the book A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960 , in which Keynesianism was criticized and monetarism was founded.
academic career
At Barnard College she earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1934 . She studied economics at Columbia University in New York, where she obtained a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1936 . In 1964 the doctorate she was from Columbia University Ph. D. granted. She taught at Brooklyn College in 1952. From 1959 to 1960 she taught at Baruch College . From 1967 to 1969 she was Adjunct Professor of Economics at the City University of New York at Hunter College . From 1969 to 1970 she taught at New York University's School of Art and Science for Graduates.
Career history
In 1936 she worked for a year in the US Department of Agriculture . She then carried out studies with Walt Whitman Rostow and Arthur D. Gayer at Columbia University over a period of five years on the fluctuations in the British economy from 1790 to 1850. In 1941, she took up a new long-term position in the New York branch of the National Bureau of Economic Research .
In 1981 she was staff director of the US Gold Commission . Since 1984 she has been a reviewer for The Key Reporter annual books .
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) made her an honorary scientific member in 1985. From 1987 to 1988 she was president of the Western Economic Association .
Scientific work
Her professional career has dealt extensively with the topics of economic statistics, monetary policy and economic history.
In the first phase of her economic studies she dealt with historical studies of the tendencies and changes in British industry from 1790 to 1850, which she published with Rostow and Gayer. One focus of these studies was the statistics of prices, using an index method from the NBER . During these investigations she came to the realization that the role of money in economic development was not passive, but that money had a significant influence. With Elma Oliver, she compiled monthly statistics from 1941 on the individual fractions of the money supply in the USA for the period from 1917 to 1944. From 1948 to 1963 she worked with Milton Friedman .
Building on Milton Friedman's theory of money , mainly his quantity theory of money , she worked with Friedman over a period of thirty years from the 1950s. This collaboration resulted in three major publications. The main role was played by the question of the supply of money, the growth in the amount of money, the relationship between the amount of money and income and the effects on price developments.
Out of the turmoil of monetary developments in the 20th century, she became convinced of a policy of constant monetary value and the rules for increasing the amount of money. She devoted herself to questions of monetary policy in the USA and other countries. These studies began in 1971 when she and Allen Meltzer and Karl Brunner examined the policy of the Federal Reserve .
Criticism of the measures taken during the 2007/2008 financial crisis
In October 2008 she commented in an interview on the measures that Ben Bernanke had taken against the financial crisis in the USA from 2007 onwards . In it she challenged the view that there would be a liquidity crisis. In contrast to the Depression after 1929, this time there would be enough cash liquidity. Lowering the interest rate would also not be the appropriate measure.
She was supported by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's intention to buy bad loans and securities that were no longer traded from the banks. However, the individual state holdings in the banks would only be able to solve the problems of individual banks, but would not stabilize the banking system. She strongly advocated that banks that had made wrong decisions should exit the market.
Membership and Honor
- Office of the Editor of the American Economic Review
- Office of the Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking
- Office of the Journal of Monetary Economics
- Regular member of the Carnegie Rochester Conference Series
- Department member of the Shadow Open Market Committee
- Elected member of the Phi Kappa Beta in 1934
- From 1934 to 1935 she was honored with the Murray Folowship at Baruch College
- 1945: Member of the Committee on Research in Economic History
- Honorary visiting professor at the City University of London Business School
- 2007: Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Publications
- with AD Gayer & WW Rostow : The growth and fluctuation of the British economy 1790-1850. An historical, statistical, and theoretical study of Britain's economic development. 2 volumes Clarendon Press, Oxford 1953; Harvester Press, Sussex 1975
- with Milton Friedman : A monetary history of the United States 1867-1960. Princeton University Press, Princeton 1963
- Reviewed by Hugh Rockoff, EH.Net Economic History Services, Jan. 1, 2000
- with Milton Friedman: Monetary Statistics of the United States. Estimates, sources, methods. Columbia University Press, New York 1970
- with Milton Friedman: Monetary trends in the United States and the United Kingdom. Their relation to income, prices, and interest rates 1867-1975. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1982
- with MR Darby and others: The International Transmission of Inflation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1983
- with Michael D. Bordo (Ed.): A Retrospective on the classical gold standard 1821-1931. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1984
- Money in a historical perspective. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1987
- with James A. Dorn (Ed.): The Search for stable money. Essays on monetary reform. University of Chicago Press & Cato Institute, Chicago 1987
- (Ed.): Commodity monies. 2 volumes. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham 1992
- with Michael D. Bordo: The Performance and Stability of Banking Systems under "Self-Regulation". Theory and Evidence . In: Cato Journal. Vol. 14, No. 3, 1995
- International Financial Crises. Myths and reality . In: Cato Journal. Vol. 17, No. 3, 1998
- Money supply . In: David R. Henderson (Ed.): Concise encyclopedia of economics. 2nd Edition. 2007
literature
- Michael D. Bordo (Ed.): Money, history, and international finance. Essays in honor of Anna J. Schwartz. University of Chicago Press for the NBER, Chicago 1989
Web links
- Curriculum Vitae on the National Bureau of Economic Research website
- Major works of Anna J. Schwartz in the History of Economic Thought on the New School website
- The Great Depression and the Friedman-Schwartz Hypothesis , Article by Larry Christiano, Roberto Motto and Massimo Rastagno, Working Paper 03-18 of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, January 2004 (PDF; 1.2 MB)
Individual evidence
- ^ Britannica.com . The claim that she wrote the Gold Commission report in 1981/82 is false (see list of authors and full text of the report )
- ↑ see # publications
- ↑ Money, History, and International Finance: Essays in Honor of Anna J. Schwartz (pdf, p. 3)
- ^ Currency Held by the Public, the Banks, and the Treasury, Monthly, December 1917-December 1944 (TOC, pdf)
- ^ Anna Jacobson Schwartz: in memoriam.
- ^ The Wall Street Journal : Anna Schwartz: Bernanke Is Fighting the Last War . October 18, 2008
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schwartz, Anna J. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Schwartz, Anna Jacobson (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American economist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 11, 1915 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 21, 2012 |
| Place of death | New York City |