Alan Greenspan - Life and Ideas

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Alan Greenspan - Life and Ideas
Alan Greenspan is mostly known for serving as the chairperson of the Federal Reserve of the United States for the second longest period in history-a total of five continuous terms from 1987 to 2006. This has seen him out sit four presidents including Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. However, it has not been a smooth ride for him since he was named one of the 25 people blamed for the financial predicament in the early 2000s. That notwithstanding, Alan Greenspan is still considered by many to be one of the greatest American Economist today.
The purpose of this paper is to report on the life and career of Alan Greenspan and to report his contributions to the field of economics. As a dedicated monetarist and the Federal Reserve chairperson for more than 18 years, he has been instrumental in shaping the economy. Effects of some of the decisions he made while still in office are being felt to-date. He has loyal supporters and hardcore critiques who have interpreted his actions differently. Therefore, he remains relevant to today’s world despite not being in public service. He is still an important public figure who still shares his thoughts on where the economy is heading.
Alan Greenspan was born on 6 March 1926 in the Washington Heights area, New York City in the United States. His father was a market analyst working in New York City, which might have served in the development of his interest in economics at an early age. At a young age, Alan Greenspan proved his excellence in mathematics through solving complicated mathematics problems in his head. He also had an interest in music and played the clarinet and saxophone, he even went ahead to join Juilliard school where he mainly studied the clarinet before he joined the New York University in 1945. He achieved his bachelor’s degree in economics in 1948, master’s degree in economics in 1950 and Ph.D. in the same lin...