Paul A. Volcker

About the author

Paul A. Volcker (1927–2019) was an American economist best remembered for one of the most consequential acts in modern central banking: taming the runaway inflation that plagued the United States through the 1970s and early 1980s. As the 12th chairman of the Federal Reserve, serving from 1979 to 1987 under Presidents Carter and Reagan, his aggressive monetary tightening — known as the Volcker shock — reshaped economic policy.

He had previously led the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and later chaired Barack Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board during the subprime mortgage crisis.