Prof. Ben Shalom Bernanke

Prof. Ben Shalom Bernanke is an American economist who was awarded the 2022 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, jointly with Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig, “for research on banks and financial crises”. The laureates provided insightful studies in the 1980s of the essential economic functions performed by banks, the vulnerability of banks against runs (namely massive withdrawals of funds by bank depositors) during periods of financial crises, and how governments may improve the stability of banking systems and avert or properly manage financial crises. Through statistical analysis and historical source research, the laureates demonstrated how failing banks played a decisive role in the global depression of the 1930s, showing that bank crises can potentially have catastrophic consequences. These insights illustrate the importance of well-functioning bank regulation and form the foundation of modern bank regulation.

Prof. B. S. Bernanke was born on 13 December 1953 in Augusta, GA, USA, he studied economics at Harvard University (1975) and earned a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; 1979). He was professionally affiliated with the Stanford, Princeton, and New York Universities and MIT, while at the time of the award he was affiliated with the Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., USA. He served as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“the Fed”), the central bank of the United States, from 2006 to 2014. According to the Scopus database, he has published 71 articles enjoying so far more than 15,200 citations and an h-index of 29. According to the same database, the most contributed topics in the last five years are (but not exhausted) bank lending channels; loans; credit rationing; international accounting standards board; standard setting; lobbying; derivative markets; financial markets; and bankruptcy code. 

Academic Profile by:

Dimitriost TSIOTAS, Assistant Professor, RSI J

 References

Ben Bernanke – Facts – 2022. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Sat. 29 Oct 2022. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes /economic-sciences/2022/bernanke/facts/ [accessed: 29/10/2022]

Scopus, (2022) “Author profile: Bernanke Ben S.”, available at the URL: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=6603742639 [accessed: 29/10/2022]

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Ben Bernanke”. Encyclopedia Britannica, Oct 11, 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ben-Bernanke [accessed: 29 October 2022].