Edmund Phelps

Edmund Strother Phelps, Jr. (English: Edmund Strother Phelps, Jr., July 26, 1933 - May 15, 2026) was an American economist and former professor of political economics at Columbia University. His research demonstrates how low inflation leads to expectations of low future inflation. Professor Edmund Phelps’ research focuses on various fields of macroeconomics. He is known as the founder of modern macroeconomics and one of the most important figures influencing the process of economics. His most important contribution lies in the theory of economic growth. He pointed out that inflation is not only related to the unemployment rate, but also to the price expectations of enterprises and employees. He introduced microeconomic analysis based on rational expectations into employment determination theory and wage-price dynamic equilibrium, and proposed the Golden Rule savings rate (Golden Rule savings rate; Goldene Regel der Akkumulation) of economic growth. In 2006, Edmund Phelps won the Nobel Prize in Economics for his "research achievements in the field of macroeconomic intertemporal decision-making trade-offs." The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences believes that Phelps's research "deepens our understanding of the relationship between the short-term and long-term effects of economic policy." He made people more aware that full employment, stable prices and rapid growth are important goals of any economic theory and policy. And said, "He emphasized that, fundamentally, the balance between savings and capital formation and inflation and unemployment over time is a matter of welfare distribution. Phelps' analysis has had a profound impact on both economic theory and macroeconomic policy."