Arthur Laffer

Arthur Betz Laffer
Born (1940-08-14) August 14, 1940
Youngstown, Ohio
Nationality American
Field Political economics
School or
tradition
Supply-side economics
Alma mater

Yale University (BA, 1963)

Stanford University (PhD, 1971; MBA, 1965)
Contributions Laffer curve

Arthur Betz Laffer (/ˈlæfər/;[1] born August 14, 1940) is an American economist who first gained prominence during the Reagan administration as a member of Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board (1981–89). Laffer is best known for the Laffer curve, an illustration of the theory that there exists some tax rate between 0% and 100% that will result in maximum tax revenue for governments. He is the author and co-author of many books and newspaper articles, including Supply Side Economics: Financial Decision-Making for the 80s. Laffer is Policy Co-Chairman (with Lawrence "Larry" Kudlow) of the Free Enterprise Fund and serves on the "Board of Scholars" of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).[2]

Life and career

Laffer was born in Youngstown, Ohio, the son of Marian Amelia "Molly" (née Betz), a homemaker and politician, and William Gillespie Laffer, a president of the Clevite Corporation.[3][4][5] He was raised a Presbyterian.[6] Laffer earned a B.A. in Economics from Yale University (1962) and an M.B.A. (1965) and a Ph.D. in Economics (1971) from Stanford University.

While he was teaching at the USC Marshall School of Business, Laffer played a key role in writing California Proposition 13, the property-tax-cap initiative that inspired a tax revolt across the nation.

In the mid-1980s, Laffer left to teach at Pepperdine University in nearby Malibu. Laffer remained on the faculty for several years.

In 1986, Laffer was a candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate—which he lost in the California primary to U.S. Congressman Ed Zschau who lost in the general election to the incumbent, Democrat Alan Cranston. Laffer identifies himself as a staunch fiscal conservative and libertarian. He has stated publicly that he voted for President Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996.[7] Laffer references President Clinton's conservative fiscal and unregulated market policies as cornerstones of his support.[8]

In 2008, he was named a Distinguished University Professor of Economics by Mercer University in Georgia.[9]

Laffer curve

Main article: Laffer curve

Although he does not claim to have invented the Laffer curve concept (Laffer, 2004), it was popularized with policy-makers following an afternoon meeting with Nixon/Ford Administration officials Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld in 1974 in which he reportedly sketched the curve on a napkin to illustrate his argument.[10] The term "Laffer curve" was coined by Jude Wanniski, who was also present. The basic concept was not new; Laffer himself says he learned it from Ibn Khaldun and John Maynard Keynes.[11]

A simplified view of the theory is that tax revenues would be zero if tax rates were either 0% or 100%, and somewhere in between 0% and 100% is a tax rate which maximizes total revenue. Laffer's postulate was that the tax rate that maximizes revenue was at a much lower level than previously believed: so low that current tax rates were above the level where revenue is maximized.

Numerous leading economists have rejected the viewpoint that the Laffer Curve's postulation of increased tax revenue through a rate cut applies to current federal US income taxes in the medium term. When asked whether a “cut in federal income tax rates in the US right now would raise taxable income enough so that the annual total tax revenue would be higher within five years than without the tax cut,” 96% of economists surveyed in 2012 disagreed. In response to this survey question, Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago said, “That’s a Laffer.” [12]

According to Greg Mankiw, Harvard Professor and former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush, most economists have been very skeptical of Laffer's contention that decreases in tax rates could increase tax revenue, at least in the United States. Mankiw states that "there was little evidence for Laffer's view that U.S. tax rates had in fact reached such extreme levels."[13]

Professional activities

Laffer is the founder and CEO of Laffer Associates in Nashville, Tennessee, an economic research and consulting firm that provides global investment-research services to institutional asset managers, pension funds, financial institutions, and corporations.

He sits on the board of directors of several public and private companies. Laffer has been appointed to the advisory board of Sonenshine Partners, an independent investment bank focused on providing integrated strategic, financial and corporate advisory services. In 2004 Laffer joined the Board of Pillar Data Systems, a non-public Data Storage Company funded by Tako Ventures, a funding arm of Larry Ellison. In 2008, Laffer joined the Board of Alpha Theory, a non-public Fundamental Portfolio Optimization software for hedge and mutual funds. Laffer recently joined the advisory board of Collabarium Capital.[14]

In 2010, Laffer joined the Boards of Executive Trading Solutions, an LLC providing the top technological solution for management of Rule 10b51 stock trading plans, and Consensus Point, a provider of an enterprise prediction markets platform.

In 2015, Laffer joined the board of General Employment Enterprises, (JOB), a rapidly growing staffing company located in Illinois.

Laffer also regularly writes opinion articles in The Wall Street Journal.[15]

Publications

The following is a partial list of publications written primarily by Laffer, with co-authors indicated, in order by date:

References

  1. "Laffer curve | Define Laffer curve at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  2. "Board of Scholars". American Legislative Exchange Council.
  3. Who's who in California – Alice Catt Armstrong – Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  4. "Betz, Marian Amelia (Molly)". Laufferproductions.com. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  5. "Arthur Laffer Fiance Of Traci Hickman". The New York Times. 5 September 1982.
  6. Zonana, Victor F. (22 March 1985). "Eyeing Senate Seat : Economist Laffer: Life in Fast Lane". Los Angeles Times.
  7. "Up, Up and Away: The Art Laffer Interview « Yale62.org". Yale1962.org. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  8. Arthur B. Laffer and Stephen Moore,Return to Prosperity, Threshold Editions, p. 26, Feb 2010
  9. "News & Features Laffer, Fleming Named Distinguished Professors". .mercer.edu. 2008-05-20. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  10. "To Donald Rumsfeld". Polyconomics.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-03. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  11. "The Laffer Curve: Past, Present, and Future". Heritage.org. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  12. http://www.igmchicago.org/igm-economic-experts-panel/poll-results?SurveyID=SV_2irlrss5UC27YXi
  13. Mankiw, Greg (2014). Principles of Economics. Cengage. pp. 164–165.
  14. "Collabrium Capital: Private Company Information – Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  15. Laffer, Arthur (19 October 2011). "Cain's Stimulating '9-9-9' Tax Reform". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 November 2011.

External links

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