John B. Taylor

George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics
Awards and Honors:
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Econometric Society (elected fellow)
Economics Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award
(2015)
Biography: 

John B. Taylor is the George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution and the Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics at Stanford University. He chairs the Hoover Working Group on Economic Policy and is director of Stanford’s Introductory Economics Center.

Taylor's fields of expertise are monetary policy, fiscal policy, and international economics. His book Getting Off Track was one of the first on the financial crisis; his latest book, First Principles, for which he received the 2012 Hayek Prize, develops an economic plan to restore America’s prosperity.

Taylor served as senior economist on President Ford's and President Carter’s Council of Economic Advisers, as a member of President George H. W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, and as a senior economic adviser to Bob Dole’s presidential campaign, to George W. Bush’s presidential campaign in 2000, and to John McCain’s presidential campaign. He was a member of the Congressional Budget Office's Panel of Economic Advisers from 1995 to 2001. From 2001 to 2005, Taylor served as undersecretary of the Treasury for international affairs where he was responsible for currency markets, international development, for oversight of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and for coordinating policy with the G-7 and G-20.

Taylor received the Bradley Prize from the Bradley Foundation and the Adam Smith Award as well as the Adolph G. Abramson Award from the National Association for Business Economics. He was awarded the Alexander Hamilton Award for his overall leadership at the US Treasury, the Treasury Distinguished Service Award for designing and implementing the currency reforms in Iraq, and the Medal of the Republic of Uruguay for his work in resolving the 2002 financial crisis. At Stanford he was awarded the George P. Shultz Distinguished Public Service Award, as well as the Hoagland Prize and the Rhodes Prize for excellence in undergraduate teaching. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Econometric Society; he formerly served as vice president of the American Economic Association.

Taylor formerly held positions as professor of economics at Princeton University and Columbia University. Taylor received a BA in economics summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1968 and a PhD in economics from Stanford University in 1973.

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Analysis and Commentary

Lessons Learned On The 30th Anniversary Of The Plaza Accord

by John B. Taylorvia Economics One
Thursday, September 24, 2015

The Plaza Accord, which took place 30 years ago this month, provides two important (and fascinating) economic lessons essential for anyone interested in reforming, or simply teaching, the international monetary system.

Featured

Time Inconsistency Is Only One of Many Reasons To Favor Policy Rules

by John B. Taylorvia Economics One
Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Advocates of purely discretionary monetary policy frequently list Kydland and Prescott’s time inconsistency argument as the only reason for policy rules, and then they try to shoot that down or say it is outweighed by arguments in favor of discretion. This is the gist of Narayana Kocherlakota’s recent argument for pure discretion.

Jeb Bush meets the Koret K-12 task force
Analysis and Commentary

Jobs, Productivity, And Jeb Bush’s Tax Plan

by John B. Taylormentioning George P. Shultz, John Shovenvia Economics One
Monday, September 14, 2015

As a matter of accounting, there are two way to increase U.S. economic growth and thereby boost incomes of Americans: increase productivity and increase jobs.  As economists put it, the rate of economic growth equals the rate of productivity growth plus the rate of employment growth.

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Featured

Can We Restart This Recovery All Over Again?

by John B. Taylorvia Economics One
Saturday, September 12, 2015

Andy Atkeson, Lee Ohanian and Bill Simon recently published a nicely-reasoned article about why the US economy can acheive 4% growth. They argue that with the right policies there is “far more room for the economy to rebound today than after previous recessions” because the recovery from the 2007-2009 recession has been so slow (“virtually non-existent”).

Analysis and Commentary

The Incredible Shifting Model

by John B. Taylorvia Economics One
Sunday, August 23, 2015

Robert Tetlow has published a fascinating research paper in the International Journal of Central Banking on policy robustness with the Fed’s FRB/US model. Perhaps the most important part of the paper is his careful documentation of the enormous shifts in the coefficients and the equations of FRB/US over time.

Featured

Seeking A Way Through The Fog Of A Currency War

by John B. Taylorvia Economics One
Sunday, August 16, 2015

Many have speculated on the nature of, and the reasons for, the exchange rate regime change in China last week. While the central bank has issued press statements and answered questions about it intentions, it is useful to look at the data.

Analysis and Commentary

On Why The Economist Should Rule Rules In, Not Out

by John B. Taylorvia Economics One
Sunday, August 9, 2015

An old, but forever crucial, question for monetary policy is whether it should be rules-based or purely discretionary. The Economist, in a Free Exchange article this week with the title “Rule It Out,” goes all in for pure discretion, abandoning rules-based strategy. It’s a new view compared to previous articles over the years in the magazine and, more imprtantly, not based on any new facts.

Analysis and Commentary

Other Economic Lessons The US Can Learn From Greece

by John B. Taylorvia Economics One
Sunday, August 2, 2015

Last week the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation held a hearing for which I was asked to address the lessons that the United States can learn from the Greek financial crisis.

Analysis and Commentary

Make Failure Feasible And End “Too Big To Fail”

by John B. Taylorvia Economics One
Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Today the Senate held a hearing on a bankruptcy reform proposal which would address the problem of too-big-to-fail head on. The reform applies to large financial firms and makes failure feasible under clear rules without systemic spillovers thereby greatly reducing the likelihood of government bailouts.

Interviews

John Taylor On The Financial Crisis In Greece--Implications And Lessons Learned Subcommittee Hearing

by John B. Taylorvia United States Senate
Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Hoover Institution fellow John Taylor gives his insights on the financial crisis in Greece.

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