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In this biography of Alan Greenspan, Sebastian Mallaby brilliantly explores Greenspan's life and legacy and tells the story of the making of modern finance.
See more in United States; International Finance; Monetary Policy
Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics
Globalization, international finance, monetary policy, hedge funds.
The Stephen C. Freidheim Symposium on Global Economics , World Economic Update Series , High-Level Roundtable Series on International Economics
Sebastian Mallaby is Paul A. Volcker senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). An experienced journalist and public speaker, Mallaby is also a contributing columnist for the Washington Post, where he previously served as a staff columnist and editorial board member. His interests cover a wide variety of domestic and international issues, including central banks, financial markets, the implications of the rise of newly emerging powers, and the intersection of economics and international relations. His writing has also appeared in the Atlantic and the Financial Times, where he spent two years as a contributing editor.
Mallaby is the author of The Man Who Knew: The Life & Times of Alan Greenspan, released in October 2016 following five years of research and unlimited access to the former Federal Reserve chairman. His previous book, More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite, was described by New York Times columnist David Brooks as "superb"; it was the recipient of the 2011 Loeb Prize, a finalist in the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs prize, and a New York Times bestseller. Mallaby's earlier books are The World's Banker, a portrait of the World Bank under James Wolfensohn that was named as an "Editor's Choice" by the New York Times; and After Apartheid, which was named by the New York Times as a "Notable Book." An essay in the Financial Times said of The World's Banker, "Mallaby's book may well be the most hilarious depiction of a big organization and its controversial boss since Michael Lewis's Liar's Poker."
Before joining the Washington Post in 1999, Mallaby spent thirteen years with the Economist. While at the Economist, he worked in London, where he wrote about foreign policy and international finance; in Africa, where he covered Nelson Mandela's release and the collapse of apartheid; and in Japan, where he covered the breakdown of the country's political and economic consensus. Between 1997 and 1999, Mallaby was the Economist's Washington bureau chief and wrote the magazine's weekly Lexington column on American politics and foreign policy. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist: once for editorials on Darfur and once for a series on economic inequality. In 2015, he helped to found a startup, InFacts.org, a web publication making the fact-based case for Britain to remain in the European Union.
Mallaby was educated at Oxford, graduating in 1986 with a first class degree in modern history. After eighteen years in Washington, DC, he moved to London in 2014, where he lives with his wife, Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor in chief of the Economist.
No post-war figure has loomed over global finance as imposingly as Alan Greenspan, America’s Fed chairman from the booming 1980s until the eve of the 2008 financial crash. And no figure has been more paradoxical: a man who preached the virtue of the gold standard, yet came to embody paper money; a man who posed as a dry technocrat, yet was political to his core. From his debut as an acolyte of the cultish libertarian novelist, Ayn Rand, through his controversial relationship with Richard Nixon and successive presidents, Greenspan was the ultimate Washington wise man, the quiet God in the machine. But when global finance melted down, Greenspan’s reputation melted with it.
Based on five years of untrammelled access to Greenspan, his papers, and his professional and personal intimates, this is the definitive study of the preeminent financial statesman of our times. Powered by fast-moving dialogue, it is at once a rags-to-riches story and a roller-coaster fable of fame acquired and lost. Throughout, it grapples with the central mystery that Greenspan’s life presents to us. Why did a man so universally celebrated forge a financial system that proved so fatally unstable? And how will his successors protect us from a future crash?
As globalization blurs the boundaries between national economies, the distinctions between political news and financial news are dissolving. Because events in one corner of the world can have major implications for markets around the globe, staying abreast of the latest political developments and economic data is essential in order to have a clear view of the forces shaping government and business decisions. Through roundtables, panel discussions, and quarterly World Economic Update meetings, I seek to put these current events in a larger macroeconomic context and consider their significance for leaders in both the public and private sector.
In this biography of Alan Greenspan, Sebastian Mallaby brilliantly explores Greenspan's life and legacy and tells the story of the making of modern finance.
See more in United States; International Finance; Monetary Policy
The first authoritative history of hedge funds; from their rebel beginnings to their role in defining the future of finance.
See more in United States; Financial Markets; Corporate Regulation
Drawing on some 200 interviews, including twenty hours of discussions with World Bank President James Wolfensohn, Washington Post editorial columnist and Director of the Council's Center for Geoeconomic Studies Sebastian Mallaby takes readers inside the world's premier development institution.
See more in Global; Economics; International Organizations and Alliances
Sebastian Mallaby responds to former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s review of his biography on Alan Greenspan.
See more in United States; Banks and Banking; Monetary Policy
Trump poses a serious threat to U.S. institutions, argues Sebastian Mallaby in a new Washington Post op-ed, and the Federal Reserve is right in the line of fire.
See more in United States; Economics
Sebastian Mallaby uses the framework of central bank power to examine the rise and recent decline of the cult of the expert. He concludes that, ironically, experts need to play the political game if they hope to maintain their legitimacy; and that a healthy democracy is well served by a mix of public accountability and technocratic independence.
See more in United States; Monetary Policy; International Finance
In this biography of Alan Greenspan, Sebastian Mallaby brilliantly explores Greenspan's life and legacy and tells the story of the making of modern finance.
See more in United States; International Finance; Monetary Policy
In this intriguing prequel to his upcoming book, Sebastian Mallaby reveals a new side to controversial former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan. Greenspan was often accused of trusting too much in markets and being blind to the effects of bubbles, but Mallaby shows that Greenspan, in fact, was the man who knew.
See more in United States; International Finance; Monetary Policy
New Census data shows promising increases in median household income and the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership would boost national income. Yet, U.S. politicians disparage rather than celebrate this tangible progress. What happened to American optimism?
See more in United States; Economics; Elections
Donald Trump’s ungainly back-and-forth on immigration has a parallel in Britain, which is struggling to make sense of its own impetuous resolution to take control of its borders. Indeed, if Britain after the Brexit referendum is anything to go by, a Trump presidency would be dominated by zigzagging: sometimes to dilute past promises, sometimes to double down.
See more in United Kingdom; United States; Elections
Given the spectacle of this year’s presidential race, it is easy to overlook the parallel drama in the world of central banking. But when the monetary priesthood gathers Thursday for its annual seminar-cum-summer camp in Jackson Hole, Wyo., heretics will stalk the halls.
See more in United States; Banks and Banking
Three months ago, before Britain descended into its “Game of Thrones”-esque madness, Theresa May delivered a speech on her country’s place in Europe — on sovereignty, prosperity and the dilemma of a midsize nation in an era of globalization. Unlike those campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union, she wielded real statistics, not fake ones.
See more in United Kingdom; International Organizations and Alliances
In this special edition, CFR’s Director of Studies Jim Lindsay, Steven A. Tananbaum Senior Fellow Robert Kahn, and Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow Sebastian Mallaby examine the implications of the Brexit vote.
See more in United Kingdom; EU; International Organizations and Alliances
The British vote to leave the European Union may come to be seen as a tipping point in global politics, perhaps more consequential than anything since the fall of the Berlin Wall. It may mark the moment when Europe comes face to face with its own constitutional dysfunction, when the idea of the “West” finally ceases to be plausible and when the United States is confirmed in its sense that its interests lie more in Asia than in its traditional Atlantic sphere of influence.
See more in United Kingdom; Treaties and Agreements
For the first time since the start of Britain’s referendum fight over Europe, the polls predict “Brexit.” The four most recent national surveys put the “Leave” side ahead with margins of between one and 10 percentage points. Most people, including many disaffected Britons who want to shake up the system by backing a Brexit, understand that this would mean a political and economic shock. But they underestimate its severity.
See more in United Kingdom; International Organizations and Alliances; Economics
An isolationist bent to British politics, what Sebastian Mallaby refers to as “little Englandism,” is not new to the British political tradition. While this perspective has long been counter-balanced by a Gladstonian internationalism, debates around Brexit have been conspicuously devoid of such idealism, speaking in a language that appeals only to pocketbooks rather than to common decency.
See more in United Kingdom; International Organizations and Alliances; Politics and Strategy
Five experts analyze the potential impacts of a UK departure from the European Union on economic growth, financial stability, and foreign policy.
See more in United Kingdom; EU; International Organizations and Alliances
Contrary to suggestions that Trump-style populism arises from stagnation, Sebastian Mallaby uses ideas from behavioral economics to contend that populism is more likely a side effect of progress.
See more in United States; Elections
The mayor’s economic expert is making all the Remain arguments
See more in Europe; Economics; International Organizations and Alliances
The country’s growth is slowing. The wrong response might make the problem worse.
See more in China; United States; Economic Development
India is growing faster than any other economy in the world. This is not just because oil prices have fallen, writes CFR’s Sebastian Mallaby.
See more in India; Development; Economics
The United States is not the only place possessed by populism, and this week the results from Iowa coincided with a new lurch toward the gutter in formerly sane Britain. The country once governed by Bill Clinton-imitating centrists is now beset by its own version of Trump-Cruzery: a xenophobic nativism that would divorce Britain from Europe in defiance of ordinary good sense.
See more in United Kingdom; Diplomacy and Statecraft; Presidents and Chiefs of State
The main uncertainty in the global economy next year will be China, which could become the source of the next economic shock, writes CFR’s Sebastian Mallaby.
This endowed annual symposium was established in 2008 through the generosity of a gift from CFR member Stephen C. Freidheim, CIO and managing partner of Cyrus Capital Partners. The symposium addresses any of the broad spectrum of issues affecting Wall Street and international economics.
A spirited exchange among chief economists and leading financial analysts, the WEU highlights the quarter's most important signals and emerging trends. Discussions cover changes in the global marketplace with special emphasis on current economic events and their implications for U.S. policy.
This roundtable series brings together senior financial experts from the private sector and the academic world to discuss ideas presented by a guest speaker on a pressing topic in international economics.
5:30 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Cocktail Reception
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6:45 p.m.–7:15 p.m. Cocktail Reception and Book Signing
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Sebastian Mallaby discusses The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan with Matthew Klein of the Financial Times.
Time's assistant managing editor, Rana Foroohar, reviews The Man Who Knew.
Discussing The Man Who Knew with Bob Brooks.
Sebastian Mallaby speaks on Bloomberg Surveillance about Greenspan's "greatest call" and the former Fed chairman's at times Machiavellian style.
Sebastian Mallaby on Bloomberg Surveillance with his take on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy.
Sebastian Mallaby and Alan Ruskin discuss European federalism on Bloomberg's Surveillance.
Sebastian Mallaby discusses Alan Greenspan's career and legacy with TheStreet.
Sebastian Mallaby discusses Alan Greenspan's legacy with the Wall Street Journal's Greg Ip.
The Wall Street Journal's Randall S. Kroszner reviews The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan.
Edward Luce of the Financial Times, Susan Lund of the McKinsey Global Institute, and Adam Posen of the Peterson Institute for International Economics discuss global economic trends. Sebastian Mallaby presides.
Sebastian Mallaby's biography of Alan Greenspan is "a tour de force," says Alan Murray in his Washington Post review.
To what extent was Alan Greenspan responsible for the financial crash of 2008? Sebastian Mallaby discusses, with Anne McElvoy and Niall Ferguson, on the Economist podcast.
Sebastian Mallaby discusses his new biography of former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, The Man Who Knew, with Steve Bloomfield of Monocle.
Alan Greenspan and the cult of the expert: Sebastian Mallaby discusses his new book.
Sebastian Mallaby on the Leonard Lopate Show, discussing The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan.
John Plender of The Financial Times reviews The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan, calling it an "exceptional new biography."
Richard Beales of Reuters calls Sebastian Mallaby's new biography of Alan Greenspan "a meticulously researched effort to identify all the shades of gray."
The Economist's Martin Wolf reviews The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan.
Sebastian Mallaby believes Germans should recognize the ways that the European debt crisis has made them richer.
Sebastian Mallaby says massive U.S. debts make it difficult for the United States to weigh in on the eurozone crisis with European leaders.
Sebastian Mallaby argues that hedge funds have survived the financial crisis better than many institutions.
Charlie Rose interviews Sebastian Mallaby about his book More Money Than God.
Chrystia Freeland reviews Sebastian Mallaby's More Money Than God.
Sebastian Mallaby appears on CNBC's Squawk Box to discuss his new book on hedge funds.
Charlie Rose previews the 2008 G-20 summit with Sebastian Mallaby and other economics experts.
London
Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics and author of The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan
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To what extent was Alan Greenspan responsible for the financial crash of 2008? Sebastian Mallaby discusses, with Anne McElvoy and Niall Ferguson, on the Economist podcast.
Sebastian Mallaby on Bloomberg Surveillance with his take on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy.
Sebastian Mallaby discusses Alan Greenspan's legacy with the Wall Street Journal's Greg Ip.
