Federal Reserve chairman whose 1979 "Volcker shock" of high interest rates broke American inflation
Born in Cape May, New Jersey, Volcker studied at Princeton and Harvard, worked at the New York Fed and Chase Manhattan Bank, and as Treasury under secretary for international monetary affairs in 1969–74 played an important role in the decision of 15 August 1971 to suspend the dollar's gold convertibility. After serving as president of the New York Fed he was nominated Fed chairman by Carter in 1979, and in October that year turned to money-supply targets and let the federal funds rate rise to 20 percent. Inflation was broken, but at the cost of the 1980–82 recession and unemployment above 10 percent. Reagan renominated him in 1983; he left in 1987. In 2010 Obama proposed bank regulations named the "Volcker Rule" after him.
Also known as: Paul Adolph Volcker
Activities and affiliations
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1969–1974
United States state institutionsUnder Secretary of the Treasury for International Monetary Affairs
Economy, finance and planning -
1979–1987
United States state institutionsChairman of the Federal ReserveMain
Economy, finance and planning
Career Timeline
- 1952–1957Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- 1969–1974Treasury under secretary for international monetary affairs
- 1971.08.15Took part in the decision to suspend gold convertibility
- 1975–1979President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- 1979.08.06–1987Chairman of the Federal Reserve
- 1979.10.06Announced the switch to money-supply targets