PLEASE NOTE: Unfortunately T. J. Rodgers has had to cancel his appearance
due to unforeseen circumstances. We hope to reschedule, but meanwhile we
have substituted another lecture for February 21. Our apologies for any
resulting inconvenience.
San Jose State University, Department of Economics
DAVID S. SAURMAN PROVOCATIVE LECTURE SERIES
presents:
Jeffrey Rogers Hummel
"A Greenspan Retrospective:
How Everyone Has Gotten It Wrong"
Thursday, February 21, 2008
5:15-6:45 P.M.
Engineering 189
STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC ARE ALL WELCOME TO ATTEND.
Many believe that Alan Greenspan qualifies as the most competent--indeed,
arguably the only competent--helmsman of United States monetary policy
since creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1914. Others are blaming
Greenspan's policies for the crisis in subprime mortgages and the
recession now possibly looming on the horizon. Who is correct, and what
was the secret to Greenspan's apparent yet questioned success? Come and
hear Professor Hummel defend Greenspan from BOTH critics and admirers,
arguing that not even Greenspan himself, in his recently published
autobiography, fully grasps what ushered in two decades of low inflation,
high prosperity, and recessions unprecedented in their mildness and
infrequency.
Jeffrey Rogers Hummel is Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, San
Jose State University. A former National Fellow at the Hoover Institution,
he is the author of EMANCIPATING SLAVES, ENSLAVING FREE MEN: A HISTORY OF
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. He also wrote the scripts for audio tapes produced
by Knowledge Products on the Constitution (narrated by Walter Cronkite)
and on American Wars (narrated by George C. Scott). His articles and
reviews have appeared in the JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY, ECON JOURNAL
WATCH, the INDEPENDENT REVIEW, the TEXAS LAW REVIEW, the INTERNATIONAL
PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY, and numerous other publications, and he has
contributed to the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN BUSINESS HISTORY AND
BIOGRAPHY, to REASSESSING THE PRESIDENCY (John V. Denson, ed.), and to
ARMS, POLITICS, AND THE ECONOMY (Robert Higgs, ed.). Professor Hummel is
currently revising for publication a second book, entitled DEADWEIGHT LOSS
AND THE AMERICAN CIVILWAR: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SLAVERY, SECESSION,
AND EMANCIPATION.
ABOUT THE DAVID R. SAURMAN PROVOCATIVE LECTURE SERIES: The Department of
Economics invites students, faculty, and the general public to consider
intellectual arguments on controversial topics. Presenters in the
Provocative Lecture Series are noted for their outstanding scholarship and
public speaking ability. This lecture series fosters the tradition of
higher education to challenge ideas and develop critical thinking in an
environment of respect and intellectual discourse. Our goal is for you to
develop the critical thinking skills necessary to reach your own informed
position on controversial issues. We invite you to attend, to relax, to
ponder, and to enjoy the thought process. Obviously the views of the
speakers do not necessarily represent those of the University.