Olivier Blanchard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Olivier Blanchard
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Blanchard in 2008
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| Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund | |
| In office 1 September 2008 – 8 September 2015 |
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| President | Dominique Strauss-Kahn Christine Lagarde |
| Preceded by | Simon Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Maurice Obstfeld |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Olivier Jean Blanchard
27 December 1948 Amiens, France |
| Education | ESCP Business School (BA) Paris Dauphine University (MA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD) |
| Academic career | |
| Institution | Peterson Institute for International Economics (since 2015) International Monetary Fund (2008–2015) Harvard University Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Field | Macroeconomics |
| School or tradition |
New Keynesian economics |
| Doctoral advisor |
Stanley Fischer |
| Doctoral students |
Fumio Hayashi Nobuhiro Kiyotaki Roland Bénabou Michael C. Burda Ricardo J. Caballero Jordi Galí Anil Kashyap Gilles Saint-Paul Janice Eberly Charles I. Jones David Laibson Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas Robert Shimer Augustin Landier Justin Wolfers Thomas Philippon |
| Information at IDEAS / RePEc | |
Olivier Jean Blanchard (born 27 December 1948) is a famous French economist and professor. He is known for his work in Macroeconomics, which studies how the economy works as a whole. He has taught at top universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University. He also served as the Chief Economist for the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Contents
Olivier Blanchard's Early Life and Education
Olivier Blanchard was born in Amiens, France, in 1948. His parents were both doctors. He became interested in economics because of student protests in France in 1968. He saw how important economics was for people's well-being. He also liked using numbers and data to understand these big issues.
He studied economics in France before moving to the United States in 1973. He earned his PhD from MIT in 1977. His teachers there included famous economists like Stanley Fischer and Robert Solow.
Blanchard's Career as a Professor
After getting his PhD, Blanchard taught at Harvard University from 1977 to 1983. He then returned to MIT, where he became a full professor. He was the head of the economics department at MIT from 1998 to 2003.
Many students learned from Olivier Blanchard during his time as a professor. Some of his notable students include Jordi Galí, David Laibson, and Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas. These students went on to become important economists themselves.
In 2015, he became a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. In 2023, he moved back to France and joined the Paris School of Economics. He continues to be a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute.
Olivier Blanchard is married to Noelle Blanchard. They have three daughters named Marie, Serena, and Julia.
Understanding Blanchard's Economic Ideas
Olivier Blanchard is a key figure in what is called "New Keynesian economics". This way of thinking about the economy builds on the ideas of John Maynard Keynes. It suggests that changes in overall demand for goods and services play a big role in how the economy goes up and down.
Blanchard has written many books and articles about economics. He is one of the most frequently cited economists in the world. This means many other economists refer to his work in their own studies.
How Money and Prices Work
Blanchard's research helps us understand how money and prices affect the economy.
- He studied why prices don't always change smoothly, which can affect how much people buy.
- He looked at how central banks, like the US Federal Reserve, can use monetary policy to keep prices stable.
- He also explored how wages and prices can influence each other in a "wage-price spiral."
- Blanchard has suggested that central banks might aim for a slightly higher inflation target. This could give them more tools to help the economy during tough times.
Government Spending and Debt
Blanchard has also done important work on fiscal policy. This is about how governments use spending and taxes.
- He studied how government spending and tax changes affect the economy.
- He looked at how government debt can impact a country's future.
- He also explored how to decide if a country's public debt is manageable.
Jobs and Unemployment
Blanchard's research covers labor markets, which are about jobs and unemployment.
- He explored the idea of "hysteresis" in unemployment. This means that a temporary rise in unemployment might have lasting effects. For example, people might lose skills or hope if they are out of work for a long time.
- He studied how people find jobs and how jobs find workers.
- He also looked at how different rules and systems, like unemployment insurance, affect the job market.
Changes in the Economy
Blanchard believes that economies go through big changes over time, not just short ups and downs or long-term growth.
- He studied how the share of income going to workers has changed since the 1970s.
- In the 1990s, he advised countries in Eastern Europe as they moved from government-controlled economies to market economies. He wrote about how to privatize businesses and how fast these changes should happen.
- He also suggested that problems in supply chains could cause economic slowdowns. This idea became important again during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thinking About Economic Theory
Blanchard has written about how economic theory itself has changed over the years.
- After the 2008 financial crisis, he helped organize discussions about what economists learned from the crisis. They explored how to improve economic theories and policies.
Blanchard's Role at the International Monetary Fund
Olivier Blanchard became the Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September 2008. This was just before a major financial crisis hit the world. He held this important position until 2015.
During his time at the IMF, he helped the organization understand and respond to the 2008 financial crisis and the Euro area crisis. He worked with leaders like Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Christine Lagarde. He influenced the IMF's views on many topics, including:
- Helping the Economy: Blanchard supported governments spending money to boost the economy during the crisis. He also suggested that central banks use "quantitative easing" to help the economy recover.
- Government Spending Cuts: In 2012, Blanchard and his colleague Daniel Leigh found that countries that cut government spending too much often saw their economies shrink more than expected. This led the IMF to suggest slower spending cuts.
- Controlling Money Flow: Blanchard also argued that countries should sometimes be able to control money flowing in and out of their borders. He said that sudden large flows of money could harm a country's financial system.
- Fairness in Wealth: Under Blanchard's leadership, the IMF started to focus more on economic inequality. He highlighted that big differences in wealth could slow down economic growth. He believed that addressing inequality should be a key goal for economists.
Books by Olivier Blanchard
Olivier Blanchard has written several important books.
- In 1989, he co-wrote Lectures on Macroeconomics with Stanley Fischer. This book became a widely used textbook for advanced economics students.
- He also wrote an undergraduate textbook called Macroeconomics. The first edition came out in 1997, and the ninth edition was published in 2024. This textbook has been translated into 21 other languages.
- In 2019, at the request of Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, Blanchard and Jean Tirole led a group of experts. They suggested policies to fight global warming, improve retirement systems, and make wealth distribution fairer. Their report was published in 2021.
Awards and Recognition
Olivier Blanchard has received many honors for his contributions to economics.
- He was the President of the American Economic Association from 2018 to 2019.
- He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- He has received high honors from France, including being made a chevalier (knight) of the Legion of Honour in 2008 and an officier in 2016. He also became a commander of the Ordre national du Mérite in 2021.
- In 2024, he was awarded the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award for Economics and Finance.
See also
In Spanish: Olivier Blanchard para niños
