Arthur Burns

Arthur Frank Burns (English: Arthur Frank Burns, April 27, 1904 - June 26, 1987) was born in Stanislau, Austria. He served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve from January 31, 1970 to March 8, 1978. He holds bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Columbia University and was the president of the American Economic Association. Burns taught at Rutgers University for more than ten years and returned to his alma mater to teach in 1941. Throughout his teaching career, Burns also served as president and chairman of the board of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He was later invited to serve as chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers and also served as a member of the President's Labor Management Policy Advisory Committee. Before serving as chairman of the Federal Reserve, he was also a special adviser to the president. Burns served as chairman of the Federal Reserve during the middle of the "Great Inflation" era (1965-1982). In short, loose monetary policy during periods of great inflation helps stimulate inflation and the expected upward pressure brought about by inflation. When inflation begins to rise, policymakers often respond laggingly, leading to an economic recession. Over the past decade, a number of unfavorable factors for the economy have fueled inflation. Such as oil and food price shocks. As Burns later concluded, “In an era of rapid change, there are too many opportunities for mistakes. After leaving the Fed, Burns became a distinguished scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and continued to speak on economic policy across the country. In 1979 he joined the bipartisan Anti-Inflation Commission, and in 1980 he chaired the Working Group on International Monetary Policy established by President Reagan, who later appointed him U.S. ambassador to Germany. Burns has published extensively in the field of economics, focusing on the study of business cycles, such as his books "Frontiers of Economic Knowledge: Essays" and "Reflections for Economic Policy Makers." Burns died in 1987.