YELLEN
Janet

• 1. Early life and education
• 2. Career
• 2.1. Work in the office of the Fed Board of Governors
• 2.2. Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
• 2.3. Council report on the causes of the gender pay gap
• 2.4. President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
• 2.5. Relationship with Barack Obama
• 2.6. US Treasury Secretary
• 2.7. Fight against COVID-19
• 3. Janet Yellen's Economic Views and Philosophy
• 4. Personal life
• 5. Janet Yellen Awards

Janet Louise Yellen is an American economist at the Brookings Institution who served as the Chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, and as Vice Chair from 2010 to 2014. She was the first woman to head the Federal Reserve.

Early life and education

Janet Yellen was born in 1946 in a working-class neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York and spent her entire youth there.Janet was the second child in the family, she had an older brother, John. His father, Julius Yellen, worked as a family doctor, his office was located on the first floor of the house where they lived. For the inspection of people, he took a very small amount of money, and sometimes she did it absolutely for free. Her mother, Anna Ruth, (nee Blumenthal) worked as a teacher in an elementary school, but soon after the birth of her children, she quit,became a housewife and was engaged in raising children. Janet attended Fort Hamilton High School. She was one of the best students at school. She was the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. Since her youth, she has shown an interest in science, exact disciplines and finance. Classmates said about Janet that she would "go far". She had a strong and strong-willed character, she did not give up slack even in the most difficult situations. Janet was honored to give a graduation speech, in her speech, Yellen called herself a versatile, attractive and talented high school student. Someone asked her what the future head of the Federal Reserve thinks about the magazine's work at school, she said: "No comments!".

Janet Yellen in the school yearbook

After high school, she enrolled at Pembroke College at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States . At first, Yellen was going to study philosophy, but soon realized that her vocation was economics. She graduated from college with honors and after that went to Yale University, where her teachers were famous economists James Tobin and Joseph Stiglitzin. In one of the interviews, James Tobin said about her: "She was just a genius when it was necessary to state complex things simply and clearly." Her lecture notes were passed from hand to hand by students for many years and were an unofficial textbook — they were called Yellen Notes. In 1971, 24 economists received a doctorate from Yale, and Yellen was one of these people.

After completing her bachelor's degree, Yellen went to Harvard University, where she taught economics. Janet Yellen became the second woman to teach at Harvard University, before her there was only Rachel Mccullack. Together they wrote several scientific papers.

"She was just a genius when it was necessary to state complex things simply and clearly."

Career

Work in the office of the Fed Board of Governors

In 1977, Edward Truman took an oral exam with Yellen and offered her a job in the office of the Fed Board of Governors. Truman had just been appointed head of the Department of International Finance at the Federal Reserve and was recruiting talented employees. Yellen was supposed to deal with the reform of the international monetary system.

In the same year, in the cafeteria of the Federal Reserve, she met her future husband, George Akerlof. They got married a year later.The press wrote about their soza as follows: "by linking her fate with George Akerlof, ... Yellen not only found a sincere friend, but also an equal intellectual partner with similar views on the consequences of economic policy for society." In 1978, no one had yet guessed that in 23 years, an unknown economist, George Akerlof, would become the winner of the Nobel Prize in economics.Later in his speech, George mentioned his beloved wife: "Not only did we fit each other perfectly in personal terms, but our views on macroeconomic issues almost always coincided." The wife supported her husband in everything and when he was offered a job as a teacher at the London School of Economics, Janet quit her job and went to London with her husband. In London, she was also invited to work at the London School of Economics as a lecturer in economics.

In 1980, the couple returned back to the United States and Janet was invited to work at the University of California at Berkeley, where she also taught economics. She is still a professor emeritus at the Haas School of Business at Berkeley.

"Not only did we fit each other perfectly in personal terms, but our views on macroeconomic issues almost always coincided."

Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

In August 1994, President Clinton appointed Janet to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. The Senate voted for it as follows: 94 votes in favor and 6 against. Two years after her appointment, she managed to out-argue the very authoritative head of the Federal Reserve at that time, Alan Greenspan, on the issue of inflation. After this argument, Greenspan began to respect Janet and her opinion. During the dispute, Greenspan said at a meeting of the Board of Governors that the moment has come when it is possible to bring inflation to zero and achieve complete price stability. Yellen objected and cited as an argument the data of several academic studies proving that a small inflation is useful — it reduces the depth and frequency of economic recessions. Since then, the 2% inflation target has become one of the basic settings of the Federal Reserve.

Janet Yellen speaks to the public

In one of his interviews, Greenspan said about Yellen:"I listened to her carefully, because she presents her position in such a way that you can analytically follow her arguments. Intuition is useless here. Her arguments and arguments were based on facts, and this always attracts my attention." Indeed, all of Janet's entourage spoke about her as a person who knows how to find a consensus and competently argue her point of view.

In 1997, Clinton appointed Janet to head the Council of Economic Advisers , so she was forced to leave her position at the Federal Reserve. Janet was only the second woman to hold this post, before her it was Laura Tyson.

Council report on the causes of the gender pay gap

In 1998, Janet presented one of her world-famous reports on the causes of the wage gap between men and women. According to research data, the difference between the salaries of men and women reached about 25%. The main explanation for this gap is the ingrained discrimination against women's work.

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

In 1999, Janet Yillen left the post of head of the council and returned to teaching at Berkeley. However, in 2004, she was elected to the post of president of the Federal Bank of San Francisco. The official message stated: "Dr. Yellen was the first in the list of candidates due to an exceptional combination of knowledge in the field of monetary policy, experience as a member of the Fed Board of Governors, experience in tax policy in the White House and her impressive academic knowledge and experience in international trade, finance and economics."

"Dr. Yellen was the first in the list of candidates due to an exceptional combination of knowledge in the field of monetary policy, experience as a member of the Fed Board of Governors, experience in tax policy in the White House and her impressive academic knowledge and experience in international trade, finance and economics."

Janet Yellen has repeatedly mentioned that she has concerns about mortgage lending, she told her colleagues:"The probability of a credit crisis and the fact that the economy will fall into recession looks very real." However, Janet Yellen did not take any action to reduce the growth of lending to insolvent borrowers.

Relationship with Barack Obama

In 2010, incumbent President Barack Obama appointed Yellen deputy head of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke . She was the second woman in the history of the United States to hold this post. Before her, this post was held only by Alice Rivlin. The senator who voted against Yellen said that he sees her " inflationary bias"

Janet Yellen and Barack Obama

In 2013, Yellen was nominated for the post of chairman of the Federal Reserve. The Senate voted for her with a score of 56: 26 and as a result, she became the first woman to head the US Central Bank. In December 2015, the bank began to raise its key interest rate. The time when Even she headed the bank was the most favorable for the US labor market. There was a decrease in the unemployment rate from 6.7% to 4.1%. There was an increase in jobs. Yellen noted that the main bank of the country should think not only about macroeconomic indicators, but also about microeconomic ones,i.e. about ordinary citizens. During Janet's reign, inflation remained below 2% and many politicians and economists were outraged about this.

The next US president, Donald Trump, did not appoint her to the post of Fed chairman again, but chose Jerome Powell. This was the first time in 40 years that the Chairman was not re-elected.Janet was outraged and subsequently criticized the policies of Donald Trump and his administration. She said that Donald Trump knows nothing about the macroeconomic policy of the state.

US Treasury Secretary

In 2021, Janet Yellen was appointed by George Biden to the post of head of the US Treasury Department. She promised to review the country's sanctions policy. 84 people voted for her candidacy in the Senate, and 15 voted against her. Janet became the first woman to hold the post of US Treasury Secretary.

Democrats and Republicans respect Yellen and understand that she has a huge experience in the field of finance and the country's economy, because thanks to her policy, the American economy managed to recover after the global crisis of 2008-2009. During the СOVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to make deliberate and expedient decisions, and this is within Yellen's power. Joseph Biden allocates $1.9 trillion to support the population in connection with the pandemic, and Yellen helps him to properly dispose of this amount. Yellen also helps Trump in conducting relations with China ,the trade war. She will be responsible for taxes and the stability of the financial system in the United States.

Janet Yellen and Joe Biden

Fight against COVID-19

In 2020, Janet Yellen said that the coronavirus would cause an economic downturn and a crisis of historical proportions."This is an American tragedy, and we need to act urgently. Inaction will lead to a self-reinforcing recession, which will cause even more damage, " Yellen said. The most "vulnerable" segments of the population will suffer the most. Yellen supported Biden's policies : reducing economic inequality, helping the poor, housing shortages, helping women and minorities.

On July 12, 2021, Janet Yellen expressed serious concern that new variants of the coronavirus could become a threat to the recovery of the world economy affected by the pandemic, Western media reported. In one of her interviews, Yellen said: "We are very concerned about the delta option and other options that may arise and jeopardize the recovery of the economy"

"This is an American tragedy, and we need to act urgently. Inaction will lead to a self-reinforcing recession, which will cause even more damage, " 

Janet Yellen's Economic Views and Philosophy

Economists call Yellen a " monetary dove "(that is, a person who pays more attention to employment than to inflation)," monetary hawks", on the contrary, are more interested in inflation than in employment. However, this did not prevent her from starting raising rates in 2015, when she considered that the situation in the economy was ripe for such a step. During the work of Janet Yellen, the S&P500 index grew by 58%, that is, the growth exceeded 10% per year, so it is believed that "investors love Yellen". Yellen is a supporter of strict regulation of the stock market, she does not believe in restoring market equilibrium without state intervention."Both the markets and the unions love Janet because she is not ideologized," said Michael Greenberger. "She studies all the information very meticulously, and when she says something after that, it's almost impossible to argue with her, because everything is based on facts."

She studies all the information very meticulously, and when she says something after that, it's almost impossible to argue with her, because everything is based on facts."

Janet Yellen with her husband and son

Together with her husband, Yellen wrote a paper that examines the behavior of" rational parents", which is based primarily on their own parental experience. "When you hire a nanny for your child, you ask yourself the question of who will be the best choice for your child. The couple proved that the salary can always be significantly higher than the point of market equilibrium, if we take into account human emotions. Due to the rapid growth and development of technologies , there will be a demand for "hand and heart workers" on the labor market,Yellen believes that issues related to employment are very important for the development of citizens. Ordinary people should understand economics, then life will be more prosperous and rational. Bankers have a number of moral obligations, based on this work, Yellen said: "It is not enough just to fight inflation or regulate financial markets. We need to try to take care of ordinary households, families, so that they can stand firmly on their feet, and for this we need a healthy labor market where people can feel safe, work and earn income."

"Economic policy should be more focused on Main Street (i.e. ordinary people) than on Wall Street," Yellen argues. Especially in the era of a pandemic, politicians and economists should pay special attention to ordinary citizens and their well-being, the well-known editor of the Financial Times, Rana Forouhar, a big fan of Yellen, described her approach to economic analysis as follows: "Of course, figures and data are very important for her. But at the same time, she sees people behind them — not as variables in mathematical models (we had enough finance ministers who thought only in such categories), but real people on earth, and understands what consequences such economic phenomena as unemployment, inequality and bubbles in financial markets turn out for them." Many believe that Yellen is the perfect economist and the ideal candidate to support Biden. Yellen is a small woman with a big IQ who will be able to revive the US economy and prevent it from falling into a deep crisis associated with the world pandemic, and she will also be able to control the state's spending without giving it the opportunity to increase it too much and increase the national debt even more. Yellen supports the idea of increasing unemployment benefits.

"Of course, figures and data are very important for her. But at the same time, she sees people behind them — not as variables in mathematical models (we had enough finance ministers who thought only in such categories), but real people on earth, and understands what consequences such economic phenomena as unemployment, inequality and bubbles in financial markets turn out for them." 

Personal life

Since 1978, Janet Yellen has been married to George Akerlof, an American economist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2001. The family does not lead a public, public life. The family has one only son - Robert Akerlof. At the moment, Robert, like his parents, is absorbed in economics and is an associate professor at the University of Warwick

Janet Yellen Awards

• Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Brown in 1998
• Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Bard College in 2000.
• honorary Doctorate from the London School of Economics in 2015
• Adam Smith Award from the National Association of Biological Sciences in October 2010. Usiness Economics (NABE).
• In 2012, she was elected an honorary member of the American Economic Association .
• In 2014, Forbes named her the second most influential woman in the world . She was the highest-ranking American on the list.
• In May 2015, a doctorate in Social Sciences from Yale University.
• In October 2015, Yellen received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Warwick .
• In October 2015, the Institute of the Sovereign Wealth Fund put Janet Yellen at the top of the list of 100 state investors
• In October 2015, Bloomberg Markets ranked Janet Yellen at the top of its annual list of the 50 most influential economists and politicians.
• On May 27, 2016, at the Radcliffe Day dinner during the Opening Week, Yellen received the Radcliffe Medal of Honor and addressed the guests.