Karen Dynan Presents on the Federal Student Loan Program

The department welcomes Karen Dynan, Professor of the Practice of Economics, Harvard Kennedy School, as the 2018 Okun Memorial Conversations guest speaker. The April 11 afternoon series of events will begin with a lunch for interested undergraduate students, followed by coffee with the Women in Economics undergraduate student organization, and concluding with the Okun Conversation moderated by Economics Professor, William English. Dynan’s talk is titled, “Getting the Most Out of the Federal Student Loan Program.” All events are open to undergraduate students, as well as graduate students and faculty members in the department. A list of times and locations can be found below.

Dynan teaches in the Harvard Economics Department and at the Harvard Kennedy School; she is also currently a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. She served as Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy and Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of the Treasury from 2014 to 2017, leading analysis of economic conditions and development of policies to address the nation’s economic challenges. From 2009 to 2013, Dynan was Vice President and Co-director of the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution. Before that, she was on the staff of the Federal Reserve Board for 17 years, playing a leadership role in a number of areas, including macroeconomic forecasting, household finances, and the Fed’s response to the financial crisis. She also served as a senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2003 to 2004 and as a visiting assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University in 1998. 

Dynan’s research focuses on fiscal and other types of macroeconomic policy, consumer behavior, and household finances. She received her Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and her A.B. from Brown University.

The Okun lecture and conversation series honors the memory of Yale Economics Professor, Arthur M. Okun (1928–1980), who served in the Council of Economic Advisors in the 1960’s before becoming a fellow at the Brookings Institution. He is also developed Okun’s Law, a formula for forecasting long-term economic growth rate.

Okun Memorial Conversations Event Schedule - April 11, 2018

Lunch with students
12:00-1:00 PM
28 Hillhouse, Room 106
Sign-up Sheet for Lunch

Coffee with Women in Economics student organization
1:30-2:30 PM
28 Hillhouse, Room 106
Sign-up Sheet for Coffee

Okun Conversation
“Getting the Most Out of the Federal Student Loan Program”
moderated by Economics Professor, Bill English
3:00-4:15 PM
28 Hillhouse, Room 108
Refreshments will be provided