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Jeffrey Frankel

Jeffrey Frankel, a professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, previously served as a member of President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers. He directs the Program in International Finance and Macroeconomics at the US National Bureau of Economic Research, where he is a member of the Business Cycle Dating Committee, the official US arbiter of recession and recovery.

Jeffrey Frankel is James W. Harpel Professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He directs the program in International Finance and Macroeconomics at the National Bureau of Economic Research, where he is also on the Business Cycle Dating Committee, which officially declares U.S. recessions. Professor Frankel served at the U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisers twice: on the staff (1983-84) and as a Member (under President Clinton, 1996-99). His responsibilities as Member included macroeconomics, international economics, and the environment. 

Before moving east, he had been Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, having joined the faculty in 1979. He is on advisory panels for the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and Boston, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He is a member of the Bellagio Group and the Council on Foreign Relations, and co-chairs the annual International Seminar on Macroeconomics. In the past Jeff Frankel has often visited the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the International Monetary Fund and the Federal Reserve Board. 

His research interests include currencies, crises, commodities, trade, international finance, monetary policy, fiscal policy, the natural resource curse, and global environmental issues. His most cited article is “Does Trade Cause Growth?” (AER, 1999). Recent papers include "Over-optimism in Forecasts by Official Budget Agencies and Its Implications (OREP, 2011) and “Are Leading Indicators Useful for Assessing Country Vulnerability? Evidence from the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis” (J.Int.Ec., 2012). He writes a blog and a textbook. He was born in San Francisco, graduated from Swarthmore College, and received his Economics PhD from MIT.

Commentaries by Jeffrey Frankel

  • Newsart for Fear of Fracking

    Fear of Fracking

    CAMBRIDGE – Against all expectations, US emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, since peaking in 2007, have fallen by 12% as of 20…

  • Newsart for The Economist’s Stone

    The Economist’s Stone

    CAMBRIDGE – This year marks the 100th anniversaries of two distinct institutional innovations in American economic policy: the introduction …

  • Newsart for The Battle of the Bond Benchmarks

    The Battle of the Bond Benchmarks

    TOKYO – Some prominent institutional bond investors are shifting their focus from traditional benchmark indices, which weight countries’ deb…

  • Newsart for Will Europe’s Fiscal Compact Work?

    Will Europe’s Fiscal Compact Work?

    CAMBRIDGE – At the start of 2013, the eurozone’s “fiscal compact” entered into force, owing to its ratification on December 21 by a 12th cou…

  • Newsart for Time for Nominal Growth Targets

    Time for Nominal Growth Targets

    ZANZIBAR – It is time for the world’s major central banks to reconsider how they conduct monetary policy. The US Federal Reserve and the Eur…

  • Newsart for Cuban Time Travel

    Cuban Time Travel

    HAVANA – For a United States citizen, the short trip to Havana requires navigating an obstacle course, owing to the trade and travel embargo…

  • Newsart for Mitt Romney Rejects His Natural Voters

    Mitt Romney Rejects His Natural Voters

    CAMBRIDGE – The political fallout from Mitt Romney’s characterization of 47% of the American electorate as “victims” who are “dependent on g…

  • Newsart for A Flock of Black Swans

    A Flock of Black Swans

    CAMBRIDGE – Throughout history, major political and economic shocks have often occurred in August, when leaders have gone on vacation believ…

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Blog posts by Jeffrey Frankel

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Recent comment received by Jeffrey Frankel

  • The Flawed Origins of Expansionary Austerity

    Sid Knight: To the extent that your proposed exculpation of R-R and Ferguson succeeds at all, it does so by showing that academic debates are so vicious because the stakes are so low. Your take-down of A-A d…

Recent comments by Jeffrey Frankel

  • Fear of Fracking

    To Sean Mac:

    No: for the record, I have no link to the natural gas or petroleum industry !

    You don't seem to address the argument I make to substantiate the claim that the fracking revolution is "the primary reason" for the continued decline in US carbon emissions over the last five years. [Incidentally, the somewhat stronger language "No other factor comes close" was the editor's, not mine.] Yes, the recession is certainly part of the explanation for the decline in emissions from 2007-09. But, no, the recession can't be the explanation for the continued decline since then, as the US economy has been expanding, especially relative to Europe. Like some of the others posting comments, you don't address the logic which I call virtually a proof, namely: (i) natural gas emits half the carbon dioxide of coal in power generation, (ii) the increased use of natural gas since 2007 has come at the expense of coal, (iii) shale gas is the reason for the increased use of natural gas. Which of those three steps in the argument do you disagree with? I can imagine other arguments, such as natural gas may come at the expense of solar power in the future, or methane leaks may offset reductions in carbon dioxide. But I don't see why you consider my opening paragraphs "unscientific", "credibility-damaging," or "shameless." Did you read the rest of the article?
    JF

  • Fear of Fracking

    Once again, neither the 2007-09 recession nor the big 2008 spike in oil prices can explain why US carbon emissions -- especially from coal -- are lower now than they were five years ago.
    JF

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