Yes, Adriana Kugler Would Make a Very Good Federal Reserve Governor

We have a letter...

So far, of the Senators I have only seen J.D. Vance publicly opposed to the latest round of Biden Federal Reserve nominations—the only one who seems to want to score public political points by trying to keep the Federal Reserve understaffed. But you never know. The Senate is weird. And it would be very good if those engaging in obstruction paid a higher political price than they typically do…

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June 19, 2023

The Honorable Sherrod Brown
Chairman
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
United States Senate
503 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Tim Scott
Ranking Member
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
United States Senate
104 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Re: Letter in support of Dr. Adriana Kugler’s nomination to The Federal Reserve Board of Governors

Dear Chairman Brown, Ranking Member Scott, and the Members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,

We, the undersigned economists, write to offer our strong support for Dr. Adriana Kugler’s nomination to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and urge her swift confirmation. Dr. Kugler’s supporters have diverse expertise within the field of economics and hold a range of economic backgrounds and political views; what we do have in common is the privilege of knowing Dr. Kugler’s work and holding the highest possible respect for her.

We appreciate and recognize the crucial role that the Federal Reserve plays in the nation’s economy, financial system, banking, and monetary policy, and we understand how critical it is for the Federal Reserve Board members to possess strong judgment, integrity, experience, qualifications, and brilliance. Dr. Kugler possesses these qualities and credentials, and there is no doubt that she is extremely well qualified for the position. She will be an important and excellent addition to the Board.

Dr. Adriana Kugler is a dedicated public servant and a renowned economist with expertise in labor economics, macroeconomics, worker mobility, productivity, and applied econometrics. She has years of experience in academic research and public policy work in the public and private sectors. Dr. Kugler’s skills, expertise, and experience directly align with the Federal Reserve’s mission to promote price stability and maximize employment.

Dr. Kugler currently serves as the U.S. Executive Director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank). In this position, for which she was confirmed via a unanimous vote in the U.S. Senate, Dr. Kugler has played a critical role in the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by assisting the U.S. in providing needed support, investment, education, and relief to countries across the globe. She has also provided strategic direction as the World Bank grapples withmultiple global challenges, including food insecurity, high inflation, lack of debt transparency, and fragility around the world.

Previously, Dr. Kugler served as a Professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy and Economics and Vice Provost for Faculty at Georgetown University. From 2011 to 2013, she was the Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of Labor, working across the federal government to develop policies and proposals on job creation, workforce development and training, unemployment insurance, overtime pay, and occupational safety. In that role, she relied on statistics and analyzed data on employment and prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and she later joined the Technical Advisory Committee of BLS and worked on proposals to improve the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to take account of product substitution and changes in the consumer basket over time. All of this experience is highly relevant to the work of the Federal Reserve Board.

Dr. Kugler has also served as Chair and Chair-elect of the Business and Economics Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association (~700 members); as a member of The Science Technology and Economic Policy (STEP) Board of the National Academies of Science, Medicine, and Engineering; as a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research; as an elected member of the Executive Committee of the European Association of Labor Economists and of the Executive Committee of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association; and as a Research Fellow of the Center for Economic Policy Research, the Institute for the Study of Labor, the Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration, and the Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality at Stanford University. In all those roles, Dr. Kugler has distinguished herself for her judgment and integrity, serving with distinction.

Dr. Kugler has built an esteemed reputation amongst economists nationwide, including but not limited to the undersigned individuals. She is a brilliant, objective economist who takes an evidence-based approach to decision-making and is an expert in policy evaluation.

We are thrilled by President Biden’s nomination of Dr. Kugler to serve on the Federal Reserve Board and Governors, and we urge the U.S. Senate to confirm Dr. Kugler to this position quickly.

Sincerely,

George Akerlof, Georgetown University, McCourt School of Public Policy, NobelLaureate in Economics (2001)
James Albrecht, Georgetown University, Department of Economics
J.D. Angrist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Economics, Nobel Laureate in Economics (2021)
David Autor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology… [and all the rest of us]