Janet Yellen is a distinguished American economist whose extensive career has made significant contributions to the fields of economic policy and analysis. Currently serving as the Secretary of the Treasury since January 26, 2021, Yellen is the first woman to hold this position, a testament to her groundbreaking impact in a historically male-dominated field. She previously served as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, where she was instrumental in formulating policies that helped to drive economic recovery following the Great Recession.
Yellen’s academic journey laid a robust foundation for her career, as she earned her bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a Ph.D. from Yale University. She began her academic tenure as an assistant professor at Harvard and has held various prestigious positions, culminating as a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. Throughout her academic career, Yellen’s research focused on unemployment, labor markets, and monetary policy, leading to her collaboration with her husband, George Akerlof, on influential papers, including those on efficiency wage models.
In her early government service, Yellen played key roles as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton, where she advocated for policies addressing gender wage gaps. Her leadership at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco further solidified her reputation, as she stressed the importance of effective monetary policy in addressing economic challenges.
As Treasury Secretary, Yellen has continued to innovate by proposing a global minimum corporate tax to address tax avoidance by multinational corporations. Her efforts to modernize international tax systems highlight her commitment to creating an equitable economic environment, thereby affirming her status as a vital figure in contemporary economic policy-making.
