home > the cfr think tank > experts > amity shlaes
Senior Fellow for Economic History
Contact Info:
Phone: +1-212-434-9500
E-mail: ashlaes@cfr.org
Location:
New York, NY
Media downloads:
High-resolution photo (JPG, 678K)
One-page bio (PDF, 56K)
Author of the bestselling The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression. Adjunct associate professor at New York University's Stern School of Business and syndicated columnist for Bloomberg. Current work includes a development of a new history of the 1960s.
Expertise:Germany; Russia; history; economics; U.S. tax policy; relative competitiveness.
Experience:Syndicated Columnist, Bloomberg, Financial Times (2000-2009); Commentator, Marketplace Radio (2005-present); Contributing Editor, The American (2006); Editorial Board Member, Wall Street Journal (1994-2000); Editorial Features Editor, Wall Street Journal (1992-94); Deputy Editorial Features Editor, Wall Street Journal (1990-92); Editorial Features Editor, Wall Street Journal/Europe (1986-90); contributed over the years to Fortune, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Commentary Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Reader’s Digest, Spectator of London, Suddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit, National Review, New Republic, Tax Notes, New Yorker, review of the American Academy in Berlin, and Foreign Affairs; appeared on numerous television and radio shows, including NPR’s Morning Edition and On Point, in addition to Marketplace.
Languages:German, French.
Honors:American Institute in Contemporary German Studies (trustee); Jurist for fellows selection, American Academy of Berlin; Frederic Bastiat Prize (for writing on political economy, 2002); J.P. Morgan Fellow of Economics and Finance, American Academy in Berlin; Bradley lecturer, American Enterprise Institute; Finalist for the Loeb (prize in economic commentary).
Selected Publications:Turning Intellect to Influence (coauthor, Reed Press, 2004); “Fluch der Rohstoffe,” Die Zeit (August 2003); “Lulling the Taxpayer: The Long-Standing Consequences of Devices Such as Withholding,” The Future of American Taxation: Essays Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of Tax Notes (Tax Analysts, 2002); The Greedy Hand: How Taxes Drive Americans Crazy and What to Do About It (Random House, 1999); “Give It Back,” Hoover Digest No. 4 (1999); “Germany’s Chained Economy,” Foreign Affairs (September/October 1994); Germany: The Empire Within (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1991).
Related Links:
New York Times bestseller list: The Forgotten Man
Podcast: Oil May Not Grease Friendship (Yale Global Online; April 12, 2008)
Current Research Project
Past Research Project
July 6, 2009
Op-Ed
Time Magazine
Amity Shlaes argues, "FDR's tenacity did not suffice to get the economy back to where it had been before the Great Depression began."
See more in United States, Economics, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Presidency
June 23, 2009
Op-Ed
Bloomberg.com
Amity Shlaes considers the elimination of the job of U.S trade representative.
See more in United States, Trade
June 9, 2009
Op-Ed
Amity Shlaes argues, "Europe's stunning fiscal outlays permitted it to pursue tighter monetary policy, while the U.S. used monetary policy as a substitute for European-scale fiscal spending."
See more in Europe/Russia, Germany, International Finance
May 8, 2009
Op-Ed
Forbes Online
Amity Shlaes discusses Wendell Willkie's criticisms of New Deal policies.
See more in United States, Economics, Financial Crises
April 21, 2009
Op-Ed
Bloomberg.com
Amity Shlaes argues that the new Financial Trust Index offers cause for optimism.
See more in United States, Economics, U.S. Strategy and Politics
April 7, 2009
Op-Ed
Bloomberg.com
Amity Shlaes argues that Washington's rejection of Las Vegas is misguided.
See more in Economics, Financial Crises, U.S. Strategy and Politics
March 30, 2009, New York
Transcript
The sixth session of a Council on Foreign Relations Symposium on a second look at the Great Depression and the New Deal.
See more in United States, Financial Crises
March 30, 2009, New York
Transcript
1995 Nobel Laureate in Economics Robert Lucas speaks at the luncheon session of a Council on Foreign Relations Symposium on "A Second Look at the Great Depression and the New Deal."
See more in United States, Economics
March 30, 2009
Audio
Listen to Nobel Laureate Robert E. Lucas Jr. reflect on why it is important to discuss Depression era policies in light of the current financial crisis.
This session was part of the CFR-New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business symposium: A Second Look at the Great Depression, which was made possible through the generous support of the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
See more in Economics, Industrial Policy
March 30, 2009
Video
Watch Nobel Laureate Robert E. Lucas Jr. reflect on why it is important to discuss Depression era policies in light of the current financial crisis.
This session was part of the CFR-New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business symposium: A Second Look at the Great Depression, which was made possible through the generous support of the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
See more in Economics, Financial Crises
March 30, 2009
Video
Watch experts discuss lessons learned from the 1930s that can be applied to today's financial crisis, including the importance of leadership and the effects of government spending.
This session was part of the CFR-New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business symposium: A Second Look at the Great Depression, which was made possible through the generous support of the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
See more in Economics, Financial Crises
March 30, 2009
Audio
Listen to experts discuss lessons learned from the 1930s that can be applied to today's financial crisis, including the importance of leadership and the effects of government spending.
This session was part of the CFR-New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business symposium: A Second Look at the Great Depression, which was made possible through the generous support of the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
See more in Economics, Financial Crises
March 23, 2009
Op-Ed
Forbes Online
Amity Shlaes compares the G-20 summit with the London Economic Conference of 1933.
See more in Financial Crises, Geoeconomics, Foreign Policy History
February 18, 2009
Op-Ed
Politico
Amity Shlaes responds to Matthew Dallek's critique of her book, The Forgotten Man, and invites him to join a debate regarding the New Deal.
See more in United States, Economics, Financial Crises
February 2, 2009
Op-Ed
Washington Post
In this Washington Post op-ed, Amity Shlaes argues that we should not repeat the New Deal stimulus experiments. The Depression tells us that public works are probably less effective than improving the environment for entrepreneurs and new companies.
See more in United States, Economics
January 15, 2009
Op-Ed
Bloomberg.com
Amity Shlaes writes about the unlikely connection between Israel and India.
See more in India, Israel, Wars and Warfare, Terrorism
December 31, 2008
Op-Ed
Bloomberg.com
In this Bloomberg op-ed, Amity Shlaes argues against the Kiddie Tax, which discourages venturesome young investors.
See more in Economics, U.S. Strategy and Politics
December 31, 2008
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Amity Shlaes looks at lessons for President-elect Obama in FDR's experimentation during the Great Depression.
See more in Economics, U.S. Strategy and Politics, U.S. Election 2008
December 17, 2008
Op-Ed
Bloomberg.com
Recent research suggests that the high-wage method of fending off economic depression can make a depression more likely. In this Bloomberg op-ed, Amity Shlaes argues that allowing wages to fall would reduce the risk of another depression.
See more in Economics, U.S. Strategy and Politics
December 10, 2008
Op-Ed
Washington Post
In this Washington Post op-ed, Amity Shlaes writes that huge public works projects, such as the one put forward by President-elect Obama, often fail to revive national economies, as evidenced by the example of Japan in the 1990s.
See more in Japan, Economic Development, U.S. Election 2008
Explore international efforts to curb nuclear proliferation with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
The Canadian oil sands present an important challenge to policymakers: they promise energy security benefits but present climate change problems. Michael A. Levi assesses the energy security and climate change effects of the oil sands and makes recommendations for U.S. policymakers within the context of broader bilateral relations with Canada.
This report explores an important element of the maritime policy regime: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Author Scott G. Borgerson examines the international negotiations that led to the convention, the history of debates in the United States over whether to join it, and the strategic importance of the oceans for U.S. foreign policy today.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
In War of Necessity, War of Choice, Richard N. Haass contrasts the decisions that shaped the conduct of two wars between the United States and Iraq involving the two presidents Bush and Saddam Hussein, and writes an authoritative, personal account of how U.S. foreign policy is made, what it should seek, and how it should be pursued.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba’s unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
As Ray Takeyh shows in Guardians of the Revolution, behind the famous personalities and extremist slogans of Iran is a nation that is far more pragmatic—and complex—than many in the West have been led to believe.
Complete list of CFR Books
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
Sebastian Mallaby
Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for
Geoeconomic Studies, Deputy Director of Studies, and Paul A. Volcker Senior
Fellow for International Economics
smallaby@cfr.org
Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1.212.434.9753
jhill@cfr.org
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