April 27: Jason Furman, former chair of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers

Jason Furman delivers the annual Arnold C. Harberger Distinguished Lecture on Economic Development, hosted by the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations. The former chairman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers will speak on the critical role of the council and what may lay ahead for the U.S. and global economies on Thursday, April 27, at 5:30 p.m. in Korn Convocation Hall at the UCLA Anderson School. 

Established in 1997, the Arnold C. Harberger Distinguished Lecture on Economic Development celebrates Harberger as an eminent scholar and teacher. The lectures provide a special forum for outstanding experts in international economics and policy to present their views and research to the UCLA community and the public.

Furman joined the Peterson Institute for International Economics as a senior fellow in January 2017. This followed eight years as a top economic adviser to President Obama, including serving as the 28th chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from August 2013 to January 2017, acting as both President Obama’s chief economist and a member of the cabinet.

During this time Furman played a major role in crafting most of the key economic policies of the Obama Administration. In addition, Furman helped make the Council of Economic Advisers a thought leader on a wide range of topics, including labor markets, competition policy, technology policy and macroeconomics.

Previously, Furman held a variety of posts in public policy and research. In public policy, Furman worked at both the Council of Economic Advisers and National Economic Council during the Clinton administration and also at the World Bank. In research, Furman was a director of the Hamilton Project and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. He has conducted research in a wide range of areas, including fiscal policy, tax policy, health economics, Social Security, technology policy and domestic and international macroeconomics. In addition to numerous articles in scholarly journals and periodicals, Furman is the editor of two books on economic policy. Furman holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.

The discussion will be moderated by Kal Raustiala, a professor at UCLA School of Law and the UCLA International Institute, where he teaches in the Program on Global Studies. Since 2007 he has served as director of the UCLA Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations.

This event is free and open to the public. You may find more information here.