Raj Chetty delivers annual Paul Volker Lecture in Behavioral Economics at SU’s Maxwell School

Dr. Raj Chetty delivers annual Volker Lecture Monday

“Restoring the American Dream: New Lessons from Big Data” 

Raj Chetty will deliver the Fourth Annual Paul Volcker Lecture in Behavioral Economics, titled “Restoring the American Dream: New Lessons from Big Data,” on Monday, March 26 at 4:00 p.m. in the Goldstein Auditorium.

The lecture is free and open to the public. It will also be available to view via live stream on this website and Facebook Live the day of the event.
(Link of tapped recording of event – which was AMAZING!)

Dr. Chetty is a Professor of Economics at Stanford University. Chetty’s research combines empirical evidence and economic theory to help design more effective government policies. His work on tax policy, unemployment insurance, and education has been widely cited in media outlets and Congressional testimony. His current research focuses on equality of opportunity: how can we give children from disadvantaged backgrounds better chances of succeeding?

Chetty is a recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and the John Bates Clark medal, given by the American Economic Association to the best American economist under age 40. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2003 at the age of 23 and was a professor at UC-Berkeley until 2009, when he returned to Harvard as one of the youngest tenured professors in Harvard’s history. Chetty moved to the Department of Economics at Stanford in 2015.

The Volcker Chair was endowed by Robert Menschel, senior director at Goldman Sachs Group and trustee emeritus of Syracuse University. “The critically important field of behavioral economics, although relatively new, has quickly become central to policy makers and corporate leaders in their decision making,” observes Menschel, the author of Markets, Mobs, and Mayhem:  A Modern Look at the Madness of Crowds.  “Paul Volcker is the nation’s preeminent economist who epitomizes the very best thinking in this area.” Volcker’s distinguished career includes eight years as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve under Presidents Carter and Reagan; four years as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; and two years as chair of President Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. In addition, he served as Undersecretary of Treasury for international monetary affairs and was chairman of the prominent New York investment banking firm, J. Rothschild, Wolfensohn & Co. Volcker also chaired the National Commission on the Public Service, which focused on the changes needed to restore vitality and credibility to public service.

The Maxwell School gratefully acknowledges Mr. Menschel’s generous support. Funding for policy-relevant research and professional training for future public officials are key components to advancing effective governance at the national, state and local levels.

Leonard Burman, the Paul Volcker Chair in Behavioral Economics, hosts the Paul Volcker Lecture and Symposium. Burman, in collaboration with colleagues in Maxwell’s Center for Policy Research, where he is a senior research associate, organizes an annual conference or lecture on a public policy topic drawing on the insights and perspectives of behavioral economics. In addition, graduate students, in public administration and economics, organize a companion research symposium featuring scholars working at the cutting edge of research in behavioral economics and public policy.

Past Volcker Lectures

2017 – April 13. Christine Jolls, Gordon Bradford Tweedy Professor of Law and Organization, Yale University.

View 2017 Photo Gallery

2016 – September 28. George Akerlof, Daniel E. Koshland, Sr. Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics, UC Berkeley; 2001 recipient, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.

View 2016 Photo Galleries / View a video of the 2016 lecture

2015 –  The Inaugural Paul Volcker Lecture, March 19. Robert Shiller, Sterling Professor of Economics, Yale University; 2013 recipient, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.

View  2015 Photo Galleries / View a video of the 2015 lecture

For more information on the Paul Volcker Lecture contact Katrina Wingle at: krwingle@syr.edu.