17 Facts About Alan Blinder

Alan Blinder is a leading macroeconomist, politically liberal, and a champion of Keynesian economics and policies.

Alan Blinder's writing has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, as well as a monthly column in The Wall Street Journal.

Alan Blinder was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York.

Alan Blinder graduated from Syosset High School in Syosset, New York.

Alan Blinder completed a 130-page long senior thesis, titled "The Theory of Corporate Choice".

Alan Blinder received an MSc in economics from the London School of Economics in 1968 and received a doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1971.

Since 1978, Alan Blinder has been a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Alan Blinder is a past president of the Eastern Economic Association and Vice President of the American Economic Association and was named a Distinguished Fellow of the latter in 2011.

Alan Blinder is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the American Philosophical Society since 1996, and a member of the board of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Alan Blinder has been critical of the public discussion of the US national debt, describing it as generally ranging from "ludicrous to horrific".

In 1975, Alan Blinder served as the Deputy Assistant Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

Alan Blinder warned against ignoring the short term costs in terms of unemployment that inflation-fighting could cause.

Alan Blinder was an adviser to Al Gore and John Kerry during their respective presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004.

Alan Blinder was an early advocate of a "Cash for Clunkers" program, in which the government buys some of the oldest, most-polluting vehicles and scraps them.

Alan Blinder asserted it could stimulate the economy, benefit the environment, and reduce income inequality.

Alan Blinder was a co-founder and a vice-chair of the Promontory Interfinancial Network, LLC.

Alan Blinder still thinks there's an excellent case to be made for free trade, but it's not the case economists typically make.