William Poole (economist)

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William Poole
President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
In office
March 23, 1998 – March 31, 2008
Preceded byThomas Melzer
Succeeded byJames B. Bullard
Personal details
Born (1937-06-19) June 19, 1937 (age 86)
Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
EducationSwarthmore College (BA)
University of Chicago (MBA, PhD)
Academic career
Doctoral
advisor		Merton Miller
Doctoral
students		Robert King
Information at IDEAS / RePEc

William Poole (born June 19, 1937) was the eleventh chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He took office on March 23, 1998, and began serving his full term on March 1, 2001. In 2007, he served as a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, bringing his District's perspective to policy discussions in Washington. Poole stepped down from the Fed on March 31, 2008.

Poole is Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, Senior Advisor to Merk Investments and, as of fall 2008, Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the University of Delaware.[1]

Biography

Poole was born on June 19, 1937, in

Doctor of Laws
degree in 1989.

Poole began his career at the Board of Governors of the

Herbert H. Goldberger
Professor of Economics there when he joined the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Throughout his career, Poole has served as a visiting scholar and an adviser at numerous institutions. From 1970 to 1990 he was a member of, and became senior adviser to, the Brookings Panel on Economic Activity. In 1980–81, he was a visiting economist at the

Erasmus University in Rotterdam. From 1989 to 1995, he served on the Congressional Budget Office Panel of Economic Advisors. In addition, he has been an adviser and consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and a visiting economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia
.

Poole has engaged in a wide range of professional activities, including publishing numerous papers in professional journals. He has published two books, Money and the Economy: A Monetarist View,[2] in 1978, and Principles of Economics,[3] in 1991. During his 10 years at the St. Louis Fed, he gave over 150 speeches on a variety of topics.

Poole is a director of

University of Missouri-St. Louis 1999–2003. He was inducted into The Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars in 2005,[4] and presented with the Adam Smith Award by the National Association for Business Economics in 2006. In 2007, the Global Interdependence Center
presented him its Frederick Heldring Award.

Speaking out

In a July 10, 2008, interview with Bloomberg News discussing two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—Poole said, "Congress ought to recognize that these firms are insolvent, that it is allowing these firms to continue to exist as bastions of privilege, financed by the taxpayer."[5] The common and preferred equity shares of both GSEs declined sharply following Poole's comments, which prompted several Congressmembers, the OFHEO regulator, the Treasury Secretary, and President George W. Bush to make comments that were seen as supportive to the GSEs in order to stem fears that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would require a government bailout.

Poole was the 2009 keynote speaker at the Tulane Corporate Law Institute.

In a major article in April 2009 about

congressional power to control spending. Many of the programs 'ought to be legislated and shouldn't be in the Federal Reserve at all,' he contended." The article reported that, "[a]s the Fed became the biggest vehicle for the bailout, its balance sheet more than doubled, from $900 billion in October 2007 to more than $2 trillion today."[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Federal Reserve Bank president to join UD", University of Delaware. Retrieved on May 30, 2008.
  2. ISBN 978-0-201-08364-4
    .
  3. ISBN 978-0-669-14491-8
    .
  4. ^ "Society of Scholars Inducts New Members". 34 (35). The JHU Gazette. 23 May 2005. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. Reuters News
    , retrieved on July 12, 2008
  6. ^ "Geithner, as Member and Overseer, Forged Ties to Finance Club" by Jo Becker and Gretchen Morgenson, The New York Times, 4/26/09, p. A1 4/27/09. Retrieved 4/27/09.

External links

Other offices
Preceded by
Thomas Melzer
 President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1998–2008 		Succeeded by
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