Biography:Stanley Fischer

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Short description: American and Israeli economist (1943–2025)
Not to be confused with British colonial judge Stanley Fisher.

Stanley Fischer
סטנלי פישר
Official portrait, 2014
20th Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve
In office
June 16, 2014 – October 13, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byJanet Yellen
Succeeded byRichard Clarida
Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
In office
May 21, 2014 – October 13, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byBen Bernanke
Succeeded byMichelle Bowman
8th Governor of the Bank of Israel
In office
May 1, 2005 – June 30, 2013
Prime MinisterAriel Sharon
Ehud Olmert
Benjamin Netanyahu
Preceded byDavid Klein
Succeeded byKarnit Flug
6th First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
In office
September 1, 1994 – August 31, 2001
Managing DirectorMichel Camdessus
Horst Köhler
Preceded byRichard Erb
Succeeded byAnne Osborn Krueger
3rd Chief Economist of the World Bank
In office
January 1988 – August 1990
PresidentBarber Conable
Preceded byAnne Osborn Krueger
Succeeded byLawrence Summers
Personal details
Born(1943-10-15)October 15, 1943
Mazabuka, Northern Rhodesia
DiedMay 31, 2025(2025-05-31) (aged 81)
Lexington, Massachusetts, U.S.
Spouse(s)
Rhoda Keet
(m. 1965; died 2020)
Children3
EducationLondon School of Economics (BSc, MSc)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD)
Signature
Academic career
FieldMacroeconomics
School or
tradition		New Keynesian economics
Doctoral
advisor		Franklin M. Fisher[1]
Doctoral
students		Zvi Bodie[2]
Isher Judge Ahluwalia[3]
Frederic Mishkin[4]
Steven M. Sheffrin[5]
Olivier Blanchard[6]
Ben Bernanke[7]
Kazuo Ueda[8]
David Hsieh[9]
Kenneth D. West[10]
Greg Mankiw[11]
Jeffrey Miron[12]
Mark Bils[13]
David Romer[14]
Ricardo J. Caballero[15]
Michael Kuehlwein[16]
D. Nathan Sheets[17]
Ilan Goldfajn[18]

Stanley Fischer (Hebrew: סטנלי פישר; October 15, 1943 – May 31, 2025) was an American and Israeli economist who served as the 20th vice chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017. Fischer previously served as the 8th governor of the Bank of Israel from 2005 to 2013. Born in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), he held dual citizenship in Israel and the United States.[19] He previously served as First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and as Chief Economist of the World Bank.[20] On January 10, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Fischer to the position of Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve. On September 6, 2017, Fischer announced that he was resigning as vice-chair for personal reasons effective October 13, 2017.[21] He was a senior advisor at BlackRock.[22]

Background

Stanley Fischer, whose Hebrew name was Shlomo Ben Pesach Hacohen,[23] was born into a Jewish family in Lusaka, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), on October 15, 1943.[24] When he was 13, his family moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where he became an active member of Habonim, a Labor Zionist youth movement.[23] In 1960, he visited Israel as part of a winter program for youth leaders, and studied Hebrew at kibbutz Ma'agan Michael.

Fischer initially intended to study chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, but was drawn to economics after being introduced to the work of Paul Samuelson at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and reading The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money by John Maynard Keynes.[25] He accepted a scholarship to attend the London School of Economics in England, where he received B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in economics between 1962 and 1966.[24] While at LSE, he studied Keynesian macroeconomics and was introduced to econometric modeling. He subsequently enrolled in the doctoral program in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), citing the presence of Paul Samuelson and Robert Solow as a primary factor in his decision.[26] He received a Ph.D. in 1969 with a dissertation titled Essays on Assets and Contingent Commodities, which addressed general equilibrium theory under uncertainty.[1][27] He became a naturalized United States citizen in 1976.

In 1965, Fischer married Rhoda Keet, whom he met during his days in Habonim; the couple had three children.[24] When they moved to Israel, Rhoda became honorary president of Aleh Negev, a rehabilitation village for the disabled. Rhoda Fischer died in 2020.[24]

Fischer died from Alzheimer's disease at his home in Lexington, Massachusetts, on May 31, 2025, at age 81.[24][28]

Academic career

Fischer began his academic career at the University of Chicago faculty, serving as an assistant professor from 1970 to 1973. He returned to MIT in 1973, where he stayed for the remainder of his academic career. He held the Elizabeth and James Killian Class of 1926 Professorship from 1992 to 1995 and served as department chair in 1993–94, before working at the IMF.[29]

Many of Fischer's students at MIT went on to prominent roles in global economic policy, including Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, Inter-American Development Bank president Ilan Goldfajn, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe, and Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda. Others, such as Greg Mankiw and Christina Romer, chaired the Council of Economic Advisers, while Maurice Obstfeld, Kenneth Rogoff, and Frederic Mishkin held senior positions at the International Monetary Fund and the Federal Reserve.[29]

In 1977, Fischer published the paper Long-Term Contracts, Rational Expectations, and the Optimal Money Supply Rule,[30] which reconciled the concept of rational expectations—developed by new classical economists such as Robert Lucas—with the phenomena of price stickiness and observed this fusion creates certain market imperfections and advocated for active monetary policy to mitigate economic downturns. Through this critique of new classical macroeconomics, Fischer contributed significantly to clarifying the limits of the policy-ineffectiveness proposition.[31] Fischer's analysis contributed to the foundation of New Keynesian economics.[32][33]

He authored three popular economics textbooks, Macroeconomics (with Rüdiger Dornbusch), Lectures on Macroeconomics (with Olivier Blanchard), and the introductory Economics, with David Begg and Rüdiger Dornbusch.

In 2012, Fischer served as Humanitas Visiting Professor in Economic Thought at the University of Oxford.[34]

Public policy and banking career

Stanley Fischer at 2000 in International Monetary Fund

From January 1988 to August 1990 he served as Chief Economist of the World Bank. He was then appointed First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, and served in that role from September 1994 to August 2001. By the end of 2001, Fischer had joined the Group of Thirty, an influential Washington D.C.-based financial advisory body. From February 2002 to April 2005, after leaving the IMF, he was an executive at Citigroup, where he served as Vice Chairman, President of Citigroup International, and Head of the Public Sector Client Group.[35]

Bank of Israel

Fischer was appointed Governor of the Bank of Israel in January 2005 by the Israeli cabinet, after being recommended by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He had been involved in the past with the Bank of Israel; he had helped implement Israel's 1985 Economic Stabilization Plan as a U.S. government adviser. He took the position on May 1, 2005, replacing David Klein (who ended his term on January 16, 2005), and was sworn in for a second term on May 2, 2010.[36] Fischer became an Israeli citizen, but did not renounce his U.S. citizenship.[37][38][39]

Under his management, in 2010, the Bank of Israel was ranked first among central banks for its efficient functioning, according to IMD's World Competitiveness Yearbook.[40]

Fischer was widely praised for his handling of the Israeli economy during the 2008 financial crisis. In September 2009, the Bank of Israel was the first bank in the developed world to raise interest rates.[41] In 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 Fischer received an "A" rating on the Central Banker Report Card published by Global Finance magazine.[42][43]

In June 2011, Fischer applied for the post of IMF managing director to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn, but was barred, as the IMF stipulates that a new managing director must be no older than 65, and he was 67 at the time.[44]

On June 30, 2013, Fischer stepped down as Governor of the Bank of Israel halfway through his second term,[45] despite high popularity.[46]

U.S. Federal Reserve

American President Barack Obama nominated Fischer to the position of Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve, the United States' central bank, in January 2014. In nominating Fischer for the position, Obama stated he brought "decades of leadership and expertise from various roles, including serving at the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of Israel."[47]

On May 21, 2014, the Senate confirmed Fischer's appointment to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.[48] In a separate vote on June 12, he was confirmed as the vice chair.[48] Fischer succeeded Janet Yellen as vice chair; Yellen had become Chair of the Federal Reserve earlier in 2014. Fischer resigned for personal reasons in mid-October 2017, eight months before the expiry in June 2018 of his term as vice chair.[49][50]

Awards and recognition

Fischer received an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2006.[51] In October 2010, Fischer was declared Central Bank Governor of the Year by Euromoney magazine.[52] He was the winner of Central Banking's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022.[53]

He was a member of the Bilderberg Group and attended its conferences in 1996, 1998, and 1999. He also appears to have attended the Bilderberg Group's conference in 2011 in St. Moritz, Switzerland,[54] though (as of March 2016) his name does not show up on the list of participants for the year 2011. He was a Distinguished Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. Fischer was named a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association in 2013. He was also a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.[55]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fisher, Stanley (1969). Essays on assets and contingent commodities (Ph.D.). MIT. hdl:1721.1/13873. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  2. ↑ Bodie, Zvi (1975). Hedging against inflation (Ph.D.). MIT. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  3. ↑ Ahluwalia, Isher Judge (1976). A macro-econometric model of the Indian economy analyzing inflation during 1951-1973 (Ph.D.). MIT. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  4. ↑ Mishkin, Frederic Stanley (1976). Illiquidity, the demand for consumer durables, and monetary policy (Ph.D.). MIT. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  5. ↑ Sheffrin, Steven M. (1976). Rational expectations and employment fluctuations (Ph.D.). MIT. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  6. ↑ Blanchard, Olivier (1977). Two essays on economic fluctuations (Ph.D.). MIT. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  7. ↑ Bernanke, Ben (1979). Long-term commitments, dynamic optimization, and the business cycle (PDF) (PhD). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  8. ↑ Ueda, Kazuo (1980). Dynamic Interactions Between Trade Flows and Exchange rates (Ph.D.). MIT. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  9. ↑ Hsieh, David Arthur (1981). Expectations and efficiencies in international markets (Ph.D.). MIT. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  10. ↑ West, Kenneth D. (1983). Inventory models and backlog costs : an empirical investigation (PDF) (Ph.D.). MIT. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  11. ↑ "A Profile of Stanley Fischer". GREG MANKIW'S BLOG. September 19, 2016. http://gregmankiw.blogspot.jp/2013/02/a-profile-of-stanley-fischer.html. 
  12. ↑ Miron, Jeffrey Alan (1984). The economics of seasonal time series (Ph.D.). MIT. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  13. ↑ Bils, Mark (1985). Essays on the cyclical behavior of cost and price (Ph.D.). MIT. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  14. ↑ Romer, David (1985). General equilibrium analysis of government financial policies (Ph.D.). MIT. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  15. ↑ Caballero, Ricardo J. (1988). The Stochastic Behavior of Consumption and Savings (PDF) (Ph.D.). MIT. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Michael Kuehlwein". https://www.mathgenealogy.org/id.php?id=207571. 
  17. ↑ Sheets, D. Nathan (1993). Essays in intersectoral economics: exchange rates, public capital and productivity (Ph.D.). MIT. hdl:1721.1/12708. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  18. ↑ Goldfajn, Ilan (1995). On public debt and exchange rates (Ph.D.). MIT. hdl:1721.1/11082. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  19. ↑ Stanley Fischer firms as top choice to become US Fed vice, The Sydney Morning Herald, via Bloomberg News, December 12, 2013.
  20. ↑ Ewing, Jack (June 12, 2011). "Bank of Israel Chief Enters Race to Lead I.M.F". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/business/global/13fischer.html. 
  21. ↑ "Stanley Fischer submits resignation as a member of the Board of Governors, effective on or around October 13, 2017" (in en). Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/other20170906b.htm. 
  22. ↑ Fleming, Sam (February 13, 2019). "Former Fed vice-chair Stanley Fischer to join BlackRock". Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/44bec8bc-2fa8-11e9-ba00-0251022932c8. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Cohen, Nitzan (June 1, 2025). "Former Bank of Israel governor Stanley Fischer dies at 81". https://www.jns.org/former-bank-of-israel-governor-stanley-fischer-dies-at-81. Retrieved June 1, 2025. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 Hagerty, James R. (June 1, 2025). "Stanley Fischer, Who Helped Defuse Financial Crises, Dies at 81". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/01/business/stanley-fischer-dead.html. Retrieved June 1, 2025. 
  25. ↑ Rappeport, Alan (February 15, 2013). "Stan Fischer Saved Israel's Economy. Can He Save America's?". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/02/15/stan-fischer-saved-israels-economy-can-he-save-americas/. 
  26. ↑ "Remarks by Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer". March 7, 2016. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/fischer20160307a.htm. 
  27. ↑ Stanley Fischer at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  28. ↑ Stanley Fischer, former Israeli central bank chief and US Federal Reserve vice chair, dies at 81
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "Stanley Fischer, towering figure in economics, dies at 80". MIT News. June 3, 2025. https://news.mit.edu/2025/stanley-fischer-towering-figure-economics-dies-0603. 
  30. ↑ Stanley Fischer (1977) Long-Term Contracts, Rational Expectations, and the Optimal Money Supply Rule Journal of Political Economy.
  31. ↑ Galbács, Peter (2015). The Theory of New Classical Macroeconomics. A Positive Critique. Contributions to Economics. Heidelberg/New York/Dordrecht/London: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-17578-2. ISBN 978-3-319-17578-2. 
  32. ↑ Binyamim Appelbaum (December 12, 2013). "Young Stanley Fischer and the Keynesian Counterrevolution New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2014
  33. ↑ Dylan Matthews (January 13, 2014) Stanley Fischer saved Israel from the Great Recession. Now Janet Yellen wants him to help save the U.S.". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 15, 2014
  34. ↑ "Humanitas Visiting Professorship in Economic Thought" , Institute for Strategic Thought, University of Oxford, November 5–6, 2012.
  35. ↑ "Stanley Fischer, Fed Nominee, Has Long History of Policy Leadership", New York Times, March 12, 2014.
  36. ↑ Filut, Adrian (May 2, 2010). "Stanley Fischer sworn in for second term". Globes. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000556585&fid=942. 
  37. ↑ Mitnick, Joshua (June 13, 2011). "Israel's Stanley Fischer Announces Bid to Head the IMF". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304259304576380053947526230. 
  38. ↑ Odenheimer, Alisa (June 12, 2011). "Fischer's Age, Nationality Are Hurdles in Bid for IMF Post". Bloomberg News. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-06-12/fischer-s-age-nationality-are-hurdles-in-bid-for-imf-post.html. 
  39. ↑ Klein, Zeev (January 19, 2005). "Bach c'tee approves Fischer". Globes. https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-875656. 
  40. ↑ Viniar, Olga (May 20, 2010). "Israel's economy most durable in face of crises". Ynetnews. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3891801,00.html. 
  41. ↑ Levy, Tal; Bassok, Moti (August 25, 2009). "Israel central bank first in developed world to raise interest". Haaretz. https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/israel-central-bank-first-in-developed-world-to-raise-interest-1.282630. 
  42. ↑ "World's Top Central Bankers 2009". Global Finance. September 28, 2010. http://www.gfmag.com/tools/best-banks/2479-the-worlds-top-central-bankers-2009.html. 
  43. ↑ "Global Finance Magazine names the World's Top Central Bankers 2010". Global Finance. September 9, 2010. http://www.gfmag.com/tools/best-banks/10618-worlds-top-central-bankers-2010.html. 
  44. ↑ Wroughton, Lesley (June 13, 2011). "Lagarde, Carstens shortlisted for IMF race-officials". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/imf-candidates-idUSN1314405820110613. 
  45. ↑ "Stanley Fischer to step down as BOI chief". Ynetnews. January 29, 2013. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4338601,00.html. 
  46. ↑ Dylan Matthews (February 15, 2013). "Stan Fischer saved Israel's economy. Can he save America's?". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/15/stan-fischer-saved-israels-economy-can-he-save-Americas. 
  47. ↑ "Obama Nominates Former Bank of Israel Chief Stanley Fischer as Fed Vice Chairman". Ha'aretz. https://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.567961. 
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Puzzanghera, Jim (June 12, 2014). "Senate confirms Brainard, Powell for Fed seats, Fischer as vice chair". The Los Angeles Times. 
  49. ↑ Liesman, Steve (December 21, 2017). "Larry Lindsey being considered for Fed vice chair job: Sources". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/21/larry-lindsey-being-considered-for-fed-vice-chair-job-sources.html. 
  50. ↑ "Stanley Fischer Quits No. 2 Post At Federal Reserve". Forward Magazine. September 6, 2017. https://forward.com/fast-forward/381961/stanley-fischer-quits-no-2-post-at-federal-reserve/. 
  51. ↑ "Stanley Fischer: The Israeli economy". bis.org. http://www.bis.org/review/r060620c.pdf. 
  52. ↑ "Central bank governor of the year 2010: Stanley Fischer's bold moves show the value of experience". Euromoney. October 2010. http://www.euromoney.com/Article/2682278/Central-bank-governor-of-the-year-2010-Stanley-Fischers-bold-moves-show-the-value-of-experience.html?single=true. 
  53. ↑ Lifetime Achievement Award
  54. ↑ "Bilderberg 2011 list of participants". BilderbergMeetings.org. http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/participants_2011.html. 
  55. ↑ "Inter-American Dialogue | Experts". http://www.thedialogue.org/experts/?iad_experttype=75. 
Articles
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Anne Osborn Krueger 		Chief Economist of the World Bank
1988–1990 		Succeeded by
Lawrence Summers
Preceded by
Richard D. Erb 		First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
1994–2001 		Succeeded by
Anne Osborn Krueger
Government offices
Preceded by
David Klein 		Governor of the Bank of Israel
2005–2013 		Succeeded by
Karnit Flug
Preceded by
Ben Bernanke 		Member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
2014–2017 		Succeeded by
Michelle Bowman
Preceded by
Janet Yellen 		Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve
2014–2017 		Succeeded by
Richard Clarida

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