Lawrence Summers
Charles W. Eliot University Professor
Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Contact:
Telephone: 617-495-9322
Fax: 617-495-0436
Website: http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~lsummer/
Publications: http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~lsummer/publications.htm
Experience
Charles W. Eliot University Professor. He served as the 27th president of Harvard University from July 2001 until June 2006. From 1999 to 2001 he served as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury following his earlier service as Deputy and Under Secretary of the Treasury and as Chief Economist of the World Bank. Prior to his service in Washington, Summers was a professor of economics at Harvard and MIT.
AP Photo
October 26, 2008
"The pendulum swings towards regulation"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor
"We need to reform tax incentives that encourage financial risk taking, regulate leverage and prevent government policies that give rise to a toxic combination of privatised gains and socialised losses. This offers the prospect of a prosperity that is more firmly grounded and more inclusive."
September 29, 2008
"A Bailout is Just a Start"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor
"It is impossible to predict the ultimate cost to the Treasury of the bailout and the other commitments that financial authorities have made -- this will depend primarily on the economy as well as the quality of execution and oversight. But it is very unlikely to approach $700 billion and will be spread over a number of years."
Justin Ide
September 9, 2008
Lawrence H. Summers Testifies on the Economy and the Case for Fiscal Stimulus
Testimony
By Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor
Lawrence H. Summers testified that the American economy remains in a highly uncertain state with very significant risks to the downside.
AP Photo
August 24, 2008
The Global Consensus on Trade is Unraveling
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor
Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot professor at Harvard Kennedy School and member of the board of the Belfer Center, says U.S. international economic policy is receiving less attention than it should this presidential election year. The success of the next administration, he says, “could depend on its ability to engage with a wider range of global economic stakeholders, on a broader agenda, at a time when disagreements are increasing not just about means but also about ultimate ends.” The next administration "faces the prospect of having to make the most consequential international economic policy choices in a generation at a time when the confidence of governments in free markets is being increasingly questioned," Summers says.
AP Photo
August 7, 2008
"How to Build a U.S. Recovery"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor
Lawrence Summers comments on the ways in which current financial policy is developed and offers ways in which policy making should be altered. Instead of creating financial policies in a reactive and erratic manner, he states, policy makers need to be more proactive in the actions they take to protect our economy.
AP Photo
July 27, 2008
"The way forward for Fannie and Freddie"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor
Lawrence Summers explains the Treasury's rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and how it will impact the housing crisis.
June 29, 2008
"What we can do in this dangerous moment"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor
"It is quite possible that we are now at the most dangerous moment since the American financial crisis began last August," says Lawrence Summers. Summers, a member of the Belfer Center's Board of Directors, says the staggering increases in oil prices and other commodities has brought consumer confidence to new lows and raised serious inflation concerns. He urges Congress to pass the housing bill immediately, to promptly pass other fiscal measures in response to the nation's economic difficulties, and to address non-monetary factors causing inflation concerns. In addition, Summers says, regulators should do what is necessary "to assure that in the event of an institution becoming insolvent they can manage the resolution in a way that protects the system while also protecting taxpayers."
June 1, 2008
""Six principles for regulatory order""
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor
Lawrence Summers argues that missing from the U.S. financial debate is discussion of "principles describing the properties of any desirable regulatory regime, against which proposals can be evaluated." Among his six principles: ensure that regulators "cannot compete to supervise particular institutions;" and do not allow institutions to determine capital levels "based on risk models of their own design."
AP Photo
5 May 2008
"A Strategy to Promote Healthy Globalisation"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor
Lawrence Summers explains why a growing global economy is worrisome to U.S. workers, and encourages policymakers to work for the interests of U.S. citizens while maintaining an open, global economy.
April 27, 2008
"America Needs to Make a New Case for Trade"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor
Larry Summers writes about America's need to reevaluate international trade in this current financial crisis in order to support the American people.
