Jeffrey M. Lacker
Jeffrey M. Lacker | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 27, 1955 Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Economist, university professor |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Known for | President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (2004–2017) |
Jeffrey M. Lacker (born September 27, 1955) is an American economist who held the position of president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond until April 4, 2017. He currently holds the title of Distinguished Professor within the Department of Economics at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business located in Richmond, Virginia.
Early years
Born in Lexington, Kentucky and raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Lacker completed his undergraduate studies in economics at Franklin and Marshall College in 1977. Following graduation, he worked with Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1984 and subsequently served as an assistant professor at the Krannert School of Management, Purdue University, between 1984 and 1989.
Career at Federal Reserve
Lacker began his tenure at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond in 1989 as an economist. He progressed through several roles: research officer by 1994, vice president in 1996, and senior vice president/director of Research starting in 1999. On August 1, 2004, he was appointed as the seventh president of the Richmond Fed and participated as a voting member on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).
Renowned for his independent viewpoints, Lacker often dissented from FOMC policy choices. For example, in late 2006, he opposed maintaining interest rates at their current level, advocating instead for further tightening. During January 2009, he favored expanding the monetary base through Treasury securities purchases rather than targeted credit initiatives. He also voted against keeping exceptionally low federal funds rates in April 2012 and opposed quantitative easing strategies involving mortgage-backed securities and forward guidance later that year in September. In September 2015, he stood alone in supporting an increase in interest rates.
Lacker was characterized as "a maverick" due to his candid opinions within the Federal Reserve framework. Though initially set to retire on October 1, 2017, he unexpectedly stepped down on April 4, 2017, after acknowledging improper disclosure of confidential Federal Reserve information during a discussion with a financial analyst in 2012. Subsequent investigations by the Fed, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and U.S. Attorney's Office ended without any charges.
In August 2018, Lacker accepted a position as Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business.
Other activities
Lacker has published extensively on subjects including monetary policy, financial systems, and payment economics, delivering presentations at numerous universities and central banks. He held a teaching appointment at The College of William and Mary from 1992 to 1993 and served as a visiting scholar at the Swiss National Bank in 1997. He is the author of From Real Bills to Too Big to Fail: H. Parker Willis and the Fed's First Century.
His advisory roles include serving on boards such as Side by Side, acting as a director for both the Council for Economic Education and the World Affairs Council of Greater Richmond. Additionally, he is a member of the board of trustees at the University of Richmond.
Personal life
Jeffrey Lacker was a native of Lexington, Kentucky, born to William Ralph Lacker and Marion Pharis Spears ("Mern") Lacker. He and his spouse, Lisa Halberstadt—whose parents are Jack and Elaine Halberstadt—have two children named Benjamin and Daniel.