Richard Clarida | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2018 | |
| 21stVice Chair of the Federal Reserve | |
| In office September 17, 2018 – January 14, 2022 | |
| Nominated by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Stanley Fischer |
| Succeeded by | Lael Brainard |
| Member of theFederal Reserve Board of Governors | |
| In office September 17, 2018 – January 14, 2022 | |
| Nominated by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Daniel Tarullo |
| Succeeded by | Philip Jefferson |
| Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy | |
| In office February 7, 2002 – May 16, 2003 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | David Wilcox |
| Succeeded by | Mark Warshawsky |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1957-05-18)May 18, 1957 (age 68) Herrin, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican[1] |
| Education | University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BS) Harvard University (MA,PhD) |
Richard Harris Clarida (born May 18, 1957) is an American economist who served as the 21stVice Chair of the Federal Reserve from 2018 to 2022. Clarida resigned his post on January 14, 2022, to return from public service leave to teach at Columbia University for the spring term of 2022. He is theC. Lowell Harriss Professor of Economics and International Affairs atColumbia University and, from 2006 until September 2018 and from October 2022 to the present, a Global Strategic Advisor forPIMCO. He is notable for his contributions todynamic stochastic general equilibrium theory and international monetary economics. He is a formerAssistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and is a recipient of the Treasury Medal. He also was a proponent of the theory that inflation was transitory during the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
Clarida received hisBachelor of Science degree in economics from theUniversity of Illinois with Bronze Tablet honors, and hisMaster of Arts andDoctor of Philosophy degrees fromHarvard University. In October 2018 he received the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Illinois.
Since 1988, Clarida has taught in the economics and international affairs programs at Columbia University, where he is the C. Lowell Harriss Professor of Economics. From 1997 until 2001, Clarida served as chairman of the Department of Economics at Columbia University. Earlier in his career, he had been a member of the Cowles Foundation atYale University.
Clarida's research centers ondynamic stochastic general equilibrium modeling, a branch ofapplied general equilibrium theory that is influential in contemporary macroeconomics and optimal monetary policy, especially through the lens of time-series analysis. His studies withJordi Galí andMark Gertler suggest that monetary policy in many countries today resembles a forward-lookingTaylor rule, whereas the policy makers of the 1970s failed to follow such a forward-looking Taylor rule.[3]
Clarida has published numerous frequently cited articles in leading academic journals on monetary policy, exchange rates, interest rates, and international capital flows. He is frequently invited to present his research to the world's leading central banks, including theFederal Reserve, theECB, theBank of England, and theBank of Japan. He has written on the monetary policy implications of the low-inflation period created by the 2008 financial crisis.[4] He also introduced in 2014 the concept of a "new neutral" for American monetary policy which predicted a substantial decline in r*, the interest rate consistent with full employment and stable inflation. Whereas before the crisis r* was thought to be above 4 percent, Clarida wrote in 2014 that r* was now closer to 2 percent than to 4 percent.
Clarida served as the Assistant Secretary of the United States Treasury for Economic Policy, a position that required confirmation by theUnited States Senate. In that position, he served as chief economic advisor to two Treasury Secretaries,Paul O'Neill andJohn W. Snow, advising them on economic policy issues, including U.S. and global economic prospects, international capital flows, corporate governance, and the maturity structure of U.S. debt. In May 2003, Snow awarded Clarida the Treasury Medal "in recognition of his outstanding service".[5]
Clarida has served as a consultant to several prominent financial firms, including the Global Foreign Exchange Group atCredit Suisse First Boston and Grossman Asset Management. From 2006 to 2018, he was Global Strategic Advisor with PIMCO and in 2015 was named managing director with the firm. Clarida returned to Pimco as managing director and Global Economic Advisor in October 2022. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Clarida was director of the NBER Project on and editor ofG7 Current Account Imbalances: Sustainability and Adjustment. From 2004 to 2018 he served as co-editor of theNBER International Macroeconomics Annual.[6][7]
In March 2024, theMuseum of American Finance honored Clarida with its Whitehead Award for Distinguished Public Service and Financial Leadership; the museum cited his "impactful government service and insightful economic leadership."[8]
On April 24, 2018, Clarida was officially nominated by PresidentDonald Trump to succeed Stanley Fischer asVice Chair of the Federal Reserve.[9] On August 28, 2018, the United States Senate voted to confirm Clarida by a margin of 69–26. He assumed office on September 17, 2018.[10]
On February 27, 2020, one day before Fed ChairJerome Powell issued a statement regarding the economic response to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Clarida traded between $1 million and $5 million out of abond fund into theequity fund PIMCO StocksPlus. A Fed spokesman responded to Reuters: "Vice Chair Clarida's financial disclosure for 2020 shows transactions that represent a pre-planned rebalancing to his accounts, similar to a rebalancing he did and reported in April 2019."[11] On October 4, 2021, SenatorElizabeth Warren requested theSecurities and Exchange Commission investigate whether Clarida violated insider trading rules and to look into his "ethically questionable transactions".[12] When a corrected disclosure revealed that Clarida had sold the same stock fund just three days before his purchase,The New York Times wrote: "the rapid move out of stocks and then back in makes it look less like a planned, long-term financial maneuver and more like a response to market conditions."[13]On January 10, 2022, Clarida announced he would resign his post on January 14, two weeks before the expiration of his term. The announcement from Clarida did not mention the alleged controversial trading activities.[14][15] In July 2022, Clarida was cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation from the Fed'sInspector General.[16]
Clarida grew up inHerrin, Illinois.[17] In 1989 he married Polly Morgan Barry.[18]
In 2016 he releasedTime No Changes, a 13-track album featuring his own music, lyrics and vocals.[19]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Wilcox | Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy 2002–2003 | Succeeded by Mark Warshawsky |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theFederal Reserve Board of Governors 2018–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve 2018–2022 | Succeeded by |
