Arthur M. Okun Memorial Lectures and Conversations
Okun Memorial Lecture Speakers
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April 18, 2022 Claudia Goldin, Henry Lee Professor of Economics, Harvard University [Biographical Sketch] [Click to RSVP] |
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April 10, 2019 |
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October 1, November 19, and December 3, 2014 Timothy Geithner, Former U.S. Treasury Secretary [Press Release] “Three Lectures on Global Financial Crisis” |
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February 2013 Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Laureate, Senior Scholar; Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology, Emeritus; and Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs, Emeritus, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University [Biographical Sketch — Press Release — Photographs — YouTube Video] “A Psychological Perspective on Rationality” |
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March 2010 Raghuram G. Rajan, Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, University of Chicago Booth School of Business [Biographical Sketch — Press Release] “Is It Over Yet? The Deeper Underpinnings of the Crisis” |
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April 2009 Robert E. Rubin, Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations and Former U.S. Treasury Secretary [Biographical Sketch — Press Release — Photographs] “The Global Crisis and Decision Making” |
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April 2008 Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University [Biographical Sketch — Press Release — Video/Transcript: Part 1, Part 2] “Learning from and Responding to Financial Crisis” |
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September 2006 Kenneth S. Rogoff, Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics, Harvard University [Biographical Sketch — Press Release] “The Globalization of Monetary Policy” |
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October 2003 Richard B. Freeman, Herbert Ascherman Professor of Economics, Harvard University [Biographical Sketch — Press Release] “Working at the Endless Frontier: The Job Market for Scientists and Engineers” » What is Different about the Science and Engineering Job Market » Producing and Using Knowledge » Who Owns Science and Engineering? |
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 April 2002Alan S. Blinder, Professor of Economics and Co-director of the Center for Economic Policy Studies, Princeton University [Press Release] “The Quiet Revolution: Central Banking Goes Modern” » Through the Looking Glass: Central Bank Transparency » Ex Uno Plures: Central Banking By Committee » Who’s the Boss?: The Central Bank and the Markets |
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March 2001 Joseph E. Stiglitz, Joan Kennedy Professor of Economics, Stanford University [Press Release] “A Tale of Two Countries: Transition to a Market Economy in China and Russia” » Whither Reform? The Great Experiments » Privatization and Corporate Governance: Wealth Creation or Asset Stripping? » Shock Therapy vs. Peaceful and Strategic Evolution: Speculations on Why China Succeeded and Russia Failed |
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April 2000 Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the Center for International Development, Harvard University [Press Release] “The Poorest of the Poor: The Unmet Challenge of Global Development” » Globalization and the Poorest of the Poor: The Limits of Convergence » The Health-Nutrition-Population Nexus: The Scope for Public Action » The Role of International Assistance: A Redesign of International Strategies |
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 October 1988Robert E. Hall, Professor of Economics, Stanford University and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution “Booms and Recessions in a Noisy Economy” » Noise over Space and over Time » Measuring Noise » General Equilibrium with Noise |
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 October 1985Charles L. Schultze, Director, Bureau of the Budget, Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers, and Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution “Macroeconomic Lessons from U.S. and European History” » Inertial Inflation: Some Lessons from History » Real Wage Rigidity in Europe: Reality or Illusion? » A Century of U.S. Economic Fluctuations: Why Has Performance Improved? |
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 October 1983Nicholas Kaldor, Professor of Economics, King’s College, Cambridge “Economics without Equilibrium” » Stylized Facts as a Basis for Theory Building » Supply and Demand » Interregional Trade and Cumulative Causation |
Okun Memorial Conversations
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November 1, 2018 Jamil Anderlini, Asia Editor of the Financial Times |
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April 11, 2018 Karen Dynan, Professor of the Practice of Economics, Harvard Kennedy School |
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September 2015 John Paulson, President and Portfolio Manager, Paulson & Co. Inc. In conversation with Robert Shiller, Sterling Professor of Economics, Yale University |
The lecture and conversation series honors the memory of Arthur M. Okun (1928–1980). The donor, a Yale alumnus who was a long-time associate, friend, and admirer of Okun, stated the reasons for the series in these words:
Arthur Okun combined his special gifts as an analytical and theoretical economist with his great concern for the well-being of his fellow citizens into a thoughtful, pragmatic, and sustaining contribution to his nation’s public policy.
Extraordinarily modest personally, he was a delightful and trenchant activist on behalf of others — both as members of our whole society and as individuals. He touched many, many people in ways they will always cherish.
Offered in affectionate appreciation of Art’s gifts, this lecture series seeks to recognize and encourage professional economists to search for policies that will contribute to the betterment of life and living.
Biography — In Memoriam — Publication List — Books Based on Lectures