Edmund Phelps: Nobel Prize–winning economist on Golden Rule savings and natural rate theory
Edmund Phelps, Nobel Prize–winning economist, known for the Golden Rule savings rate and the natural rate of unemployment, whose work shaped modern macroeconomic growth and labor market theory.
Edmund Strother "Ned" Phelps, Jr. (born July 26, 1933) is an American economist. He was born in Evanston, Illinois.
Research and ideas
During the 1960s Phelps carried out important work at Yale University's Cowles Foundation on theories of economic growth. Among his influential contributions is the formulation of the Golden Rule savings rate — a criterion for the fraction of output that an economy should save to maximize long-run consumption. He also produced significant analyses of the microeconomics behind full employment, studying how price and wage-setting behavior can determine equilibrium unemployment and clarifying the notion often called the natural rate of unemployment.
Image gallery
4 Images
Academic posts
Since 1982 Phelps has held the McVickar Professorship of Political Economy at Columbia University. He is also director of Columbia's Center on Capitalism and Society, a forum at the university for research and debate on economic systems and public policy.
Nobel Memorial Prize
Phelps received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2006; the award was announced on October 9, 2006. The committee cited his analysis of intertemporal trade-offs in macroeconomic policy, and he was the sole laureate that year.
- Golden Rule savings rate: guidance for optimal long-run saving and consumption.
- Microeconomic foundations of employment: links between wages, prices, and unemployment.
- Clarification of the natural rate concept and its policy implications.
Questions and answers
Q: Who is Edmund Strother "Ned" Phelps?
A: Edmund Strother "Ned" Phelps is an American economist who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Q: Where was he born?
A: He was born on July 26, 1933 in Evanston, Illinois.
Q: What is he best known for?
A: He is best known for his work on economic growth at Yale University's Cowles Foundation in the 1960s, including the idea of the Golden Rule savings rate.
Q: What does his work focus on?
A: His work focuses on microeconomics of full employment and how prices affect wages, as well as the natural rate of unemployment.
Q: What position has he held since 1982?
A: Since 1982, he has been the McVickar Professor of Political Economy at Columbia University and director of Columbia's Center on Capitalism and Society.
Q: When was his Nobel Prize award announced?
A: His Nobel Prize award was announced on October 9, 2006.
Q: Did he receive it alone or with others?
A:He received it alone, breaking the recent pattern of awarding two or more winners at once.
Related articles
Author
AlegsaOnline.com Edmund Phelps: Nobel Prize–winning economist on Golden Rule savings and natural rate theory Leandro Alegsa
URL: https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/118106
Sources
- columbia.edu : columbia.edu/~esp2/autobio.html
- nobelprize.org : nobelprize.org