Janet L. Yellen (2024)

Janet L. Yellentook office as chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in February 2014, for a four-year term ending February 3, 2018. She was succeeded by Jerome Powell.

Yellen graduated summa cum laude from Brown University with a degree in economics in 1967. She received her doctorate in economics from Yale University in 1971. From 1971 to 1976, she was an assistant professor at Harvard University. From 1977 to 1978, she worked for the Board of Governors as an economist, before joining the faculty of the London School of Economics and Political Science (1978–80).

Yellen is professor emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley, where she has been a faculty member since 1980. During her time there, she was also the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business and Professor of Economics.

Yellen took leave from Berkeley for five years starting in August 1994. She served as a member of the Board of Governors until February 1997 and then left the Board to become chair of the Council of Economic Advisers through August 1999. She also chaired the Economic Policy Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development from 1997 to 1999. Yellen served as president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (2004–10) as well as vice chair of the Board of Governors (2010-14) before her appointment as chair.

Yellen is a member of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has served as president of the Western Economic Association, vice president of the American Economic Association, and a fellow of the Yale Corporation.

She has received a number of academic honors during her career. These include the Wilbur Cross Medal from Yale in 1997, an honorary doctor of laws degree from Brown in 1998, and an honorary doctor of humane letters from Bard College in 2000.

Yellen has written on a wide variety of macroeconomic issues, while specializing in the causes, mechanisms, and implications of unemployment.

Yellen is married and has an adult son.

Written by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. See disclaimer.

Janet L. Yellen (2024)

FAQs

Is Janet Yellen Democrat or Republican? ›

Janet Louise Yellen (born August 13, 1946) is an American economist and professor. She is a Democrat.

Does Janet Yellen have a PhD? ›

She was the first woman to hold each of those posts. Yellen graduated summa cum laude in economics from Brown University (1967) and received a Ph. D. in economics from Yale University (1971).

What did Yellen do in China? ›

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is wrapping up her second trip to China, where she raised American concerns about Chinese overproduction, warned against support for Russia and, unexpectedly, caused a stir on Chinese social media over her travel style and chopstick-wielding skills.

Is Janet Yellen a Keynesian? ›

Janet Yellen was inspired to major in economics when she learned about business cycle theory known as Keynesian economics. She then spent her career extending and promoting the theory as it evolved to New Keynesian economics.

How did Janet Yellen get so rich? ›

Between 2018 and 2020, Yellen received over $7 million in speaking fees from financial companies such as Barclays, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and the hedge fund Citadel after leaving the Federal Reserve.

What credentials does Janet Yellen have? ›

Yellen graduated summa cum laude from Brown University with a degree in economics in 1967. She received her doctorate in economics from Yale University in 1971. From 1971 to 1976, she was an assistant professor at Harvard University.

How much of the U.S. Treasury is owned by China? ›

China owns around 2.6% of U.S. debt, which it buys because the Chinese yuan is pegged to the dollar. It would be impossible for China to call in all its U.S. debt at once, given the different maturity dates of the U.S. securities that China owns. United States Department of Treasury.

Did China stop buying US Treasuries? ›

More importantly, China's footprint in the U.S. bond market is a fraction of what it once was. China owns less than 3% of all outstanding Treasuries, the smallest share in 22 years, and again substantially down from the record 14% in 2011. Granted, China also likely holds Treasuries via other countries like Belgium.

What would happen if China sold all its US Treasuries? ›

If China (or any other nation that has a trade surplus with the U.S.) stops buying U.S. Treasuries or even starts dumping its U.S. forex reserves, its trade surplus would become a trade deficit—something which no export-oriented economy would want, as they would be worse off as a result.

Who influenced Janet Yellen? ›

Early in her academic career, Yellen was strongly influenced by James Tobin, the legendary Yale economics professor and Nobel Prize winner. Yellen wrote her doctoral dissertation under Tobin, who argued central banks should focus more on combating unemployment than inflation.

What is Keynesian beliefs? ›

Keynesians believe that, because prices are somewhat rigid, fluctuations in any component of spending—consumption, investment, or government expenditures—cause output to change. If government spending increases, for example, and all other spending components remain constant, then output will increase.

Which president said Keynesian economics? ›

During his presidency, Roosevelt adopted some aspects of Keynesian economics, especially after 1937, when, in the depths of the Depression, the United States suffered from recession yet again following fiscal contraction.

Is Powell a Republican or Democrat? ›

Which political party currently controls the U.S. House of Representatives? ›

In the 2022 elections, Republicans took back control of the House, winning a slim majority.

What bill is Janet Yellen on? ›

What's next: The updated $1 and $5 dollar bills will be delivered to the Federal Reserve later this month and enter circulation early next year, a Treasury spokesperson said. Yellen's signature appears alongside that of the U.S. Treasurer, Marilynn "Lynn" Malerba — the first Native American to serve in that role.

Who appointed Jerome Powell? ›

He became a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors after being nominated to the post by President Barack Obama in 2012, he was subsequently elevated to chairman by President Donald Trump (succeeding Janet Yellen), and renominated to the position by President Joe Biden. Powell built his reputation in ...

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