Olivier Blanchard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Olivier Blanchard
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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 December 27, 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
Early Life and Education
Olivier Blanchard was born in Amiens, France, in 1948. His parents were both doctors. He became interested in economics during the student protests in France in 1968. He saw how important economics was for the well-being of society.
He earned a degree in economics from the Paris Nanterre University in 1972. In 1973, he moved to the United States. He then earned his PhD from MIT in 1977. His teachers included famous economists like Stanley Fischer and Robert Solow.
Teaching and Career Highlights
After getting his PhD, Blanchard taught at Harvard University from 1977 to 1983. He then moved back to MIT, where he became a full professor. He was the head of the economics department at MIT from 1998 to 2003.
From 2008 to 2015, Blanchard took a break from MIT. He became the Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF is an organization that works to help countries with their economies. After his time at the IMF, he joined the Peterson Institute for International Economics. In 2023, he returned to France and joined the Paris School of Economics.
Blanchard has taught and guided many students who later became important economists themselves. He is married to Noelle Blanchard and has three daughters.
Key Ideas in Economics
Olivier Blanchard is a leader in a field called "New Keynesian economics". This way of thinking looks at how changes in overall demand affect the economy. His research covers many areas, from theories to real-world policy ideas. He has written many books and articles. He is one of the most often quoted economists in the world.
Understanding Economic Changes
Blanchard has helped us understand why prices don't always change smoothly. He showed how this can affect how much people buy and sell. He also studied how different events, like changes in demand or supply, impact the economy.
Money and Government Spending
Blanchard has given advice on how central banks should manage money. He 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.
He also studied how government spending and taxes affect the economy. He looked at how government debt impacts a country's future. He helped create ways to check if a country's debt is manageable.
Jobs and Workers
Blanchard has done important work on labor markets. He explored the idea of "hysteresis". This means that a short-term problem, like a recession, can have a lasting effect on unemployment. For example, if many people lose jobs, they might find it harder to get new ones later. He also studied how workers move between jobs and how job openings relate to unemployment.
Economic Changes Over Time
Blanchard has looked at how economies change over the medium term. This includes big shifts in how industries work or how income is shared. In the 1990s, he also advised countries in Eastern Europe. These countries were changing from a planned economy to a market economy. He explained how supply chains could break down during these big changes. This idea became important again during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Work at the International Monetary Fund
Blanchard became the IMF's chief economist in September 2008. This was just before the Lehman Brothers collapse, which started a big global financial crisis. He spent much of his time at the IMF dealing with this crisis and later the euro crisis.
He helped the IMF think about new ideas. These included how central banks could use unusual methods to help the economy. He also looked at how much governments should cut spending (called fiscal austerity).
Fiscal Austerity and Capital Flows
In 2012, Blanchard and a colleague found that countries cutting spending too much had slower economic growth. This led the IMF to change its advice. They suggested that countries should be more careful when cutting spending.
Blanchard also argued that the IMF should rethink its view on "capital controls." These are rules that limit how money can move in and out of a country. He suggested that sometimes, these controls could be helpful. They could stop too much money from flowing in or out too quickly, which can harm a country's economy.
Focus on Inequality
During Blanchard's time, the IMF also started to focus more on Inequality. He believed that inequality was not just a social issue. He saw it as a problem that could affect how well the overall economy grew. He said that understanding how inequality impacts the economy would be a key task for the IMF.
Books and Publications
In 1989, Blanchard wrote "Lectures on Macroeconomics" with Stanley Fischer. This book became a popular textbook for graduate students.
He also wrote an undergraduate textbook called "Macroeconomics." The first edition came out in 1997, and it has been updated many times. This textbook has been translated into 21 languages around the world.
In 2019, Blanchard worked with Jean Tirole on a report for the French President. This report suggested ways to fight global warming, improve retirement systems, and make wealth distribution fairer.
Awards and Recognition
Olivier Blanchard has received many honors for his work. He was the Vice President and later the President of the American Economic Association. He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. France has honored him with the Legion of Honour and the Ordre national du Mérite, which are very high awards.
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