Meyer, Laurence H. 1944-

views updated

Meyer, Laurence H. 1944-

PERSONAL: Born March 8, 1944, in New York, NY. Education: Yale University, B.A. (magna cum laude), 1965; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ph.D., 1970.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Harper Business, 10 East 53rd St., 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

CAREER: Washington University, St. Louis, MO, professor of economics, 1969-96, research associate of Center for the Study of American Business, former chair of economics department; Laurence H. Meyer and Associates, St. Louis, MO, cofounder and president, 1982-96. Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC, former economist, member of board of governors, 1996-2002; Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC, distinguished scholar; Federal Reserve Bank, St. Louis, MO, visiting scholar.

AWARDS, HONORS: Named top forecaster of the year, Business Week, 1986; Annual Forecast Award, 1993, 1996.

WRITINGS:

Macroeconomics, a Model Building Approach, South-Western Publishing Company (Cincinnati, OH), 1980.

(Editor) The Supply-side Effects of Economic Policy, Center for the Study of American Business (St. Louis, MO), 1981.

(Editor) Improving Money Stock Control: Problems, Solutions, and Consequences, Kluwer-Nijhoff Publishers (Boston, MA), 1983.

(Editor) The Economic Consequences of Government Deficits, Kluwer-Nijhoff Publishers (Boston, MA), 1983.

International Coordination of Macroeconomic Policies: Still Alive in the New Millennium?, Federal Reserve Board (Washington, DC), 2002.

A Term at the Fed: An Insider's View, HarperBusiness (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to professional journals.

SIDELIGHTS: Economist Laurence H. Meyer served as a professor of economics at Washington University in St. Louis for nearly thirty years, and spent five and a half years on the board of governors for the Federal Reserve Board. He is the author or editor of several volumes on economics, most notably A Term at the Fed: An Insider's View. Although A Term at the Fed is supposedly an inside look at the people responsible for running the Federal Reserve Board, Meyer actually devotes more attention to examining the terms of economic debate and analyzing the system by which the economy is governed. During the time he served, Meyer disagreed with Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan's point of view on how to regulate economic policy, which put him in an ideal position to consider the pros and cons of each side.

Rich Miller, reviewing the book for Business Week, remarked that Meyer "wasn't shy about … stressing in speeches and in testimony to Congress the limits to economic growth and the risks of faster inflation," going on to state that "Meyer displays that same sort of frankness in discussing his performance as a central-bank policymaker…. He's candid about the mistakes he made." Meyer's straightforward approach makes his work both readable and believable to many readers. Miller found that "the book excels at setting out the economic challenges the Fed faced during Meyer's tenure, including the Asian financial crisis, the end of the U.S. stock-market bubble, and finally, the September 11 attacks." He concluded that "while the book is not without flaws, it is a welcome addition to the history of the past decade."

John K. Galbraith, whose own economic views were in direct opposition to Meyer's, reviewed the book for Washington Monthly. Here he remarked that "this is a book about policy, about the theory that tries to inform policy decisions. And it contains small but instructive insights into the personalities of the key decision-makers, especially the ever-enigmatic Alan Greenspan." A contributor to Publishers Weekly found the insights about Greenspan weak, however, commenting that, "while broadly informative and certainly unique, the book represents an opportunity lost." Boston Globe reviewer Martha E. Mangelsdorf looked at the work differently however, considering it less about Greenspan and more about Meyer's own experiences during his tenure as a governor. She remarked that, "like any memoir, this book gives only one person's view, with all the limitations of any single-source narrative. Meyer does a nice job explaining economic topics, such as the economic ramifications of an acceleration in productivity. While not earthshaking, A Term at the Fed is informative." Choice writer R. E. Schenk concluded that Meyer's effort is among those rare works that is "a readable account of macroeconomic policy that an intelligent citizen can understand."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Banker, January 15, 2002, Nicole Duran, "In Brief: Fed Governor Meyer to Step Down Jan. 31," p. 20; June 28, 2004, Damian Paletta, Michele Heller, "Washington People," p. 4; July 30, 2004, Damian Paletta, "People," p. 2.

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, August 20, 2004, "U.S. Fed Set for another Rate Hike in September: Meyer."

Bond Buyer, January 15, 2002, Alison Vekshin, "Another Fed Slot Opens as Meyer Resigns," p. 4; August 12, 2004, Helen Chang, "The Trading Floor: MBIA Adds Ex-Fed Member to Board," p. 6.

Booklist, July, 2004, David Siegfried, review of A Term at the Fed: An Insider's View, p. 1806.

Bookwatch, October, 2004, review of A Term at the Fed.

Boston Globe, July 11, 2004, Martha E. Mangelsdorf, "An Insider's Look at How the Fed Sets Monetary Policy," p. C2.

Business Week, July 19, 2004, Rich Miller, "In Greenspan's Shadow: The Author Offers a Peek at How the Fed Chairman Wields Clout," p. 26.

Choice, December, 2004, R. E. Schenk, review of A Term at the Fed, p. 708.

Community Banker, March, 2002, "Meyer Resigns," p. 12.

Federal Reserve Bulletin, February, 2002, "Resignation of Governor Laurence H. Meyer," p. 85.

Fortune, July 26, 2004, Nomi Prins, review of A Term at the Fed, p. 38.

Library Journal, July, 2004, Susan C. Awe, review of A Term at the Fed, p. 95.

PR Newswire, June 17, 2002, "Former Fed Governor Returns to Macroeconomic Advisers."

Publishers Weekly, June 21, 2004, "A Term at the Fed: The People and Policies of the World's Most Powerful Institution," p. 56.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 2004, David Nicklaus, "After December, the Interest Rate Crystal Ball Clouds Up."