Albert E. Rees (August 21, 1921 – September 5, 1992) was an American

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and noted author. An influential labor economist, Rees taught at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

from 1966 to 1979, while also being an advisor to President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

. He was also a former

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

of Princeton and former president of the

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is an American philanthropic nonprofit organization. It was established in 1934 by Alfred P. Sloan Jr., president and chief executive officer of General Motors. The Sloan Foundation makes grants to support origina ...

. He was also the first head of the

Council on Wage and Price Stability Albert E. Rees (August 21, 1921 – September 5, 1992) was an American economist and noted author. An influential labor economist, Rees taught at Princeton University from 1966 to 1979, while also being an advisor to President Gerald Ford. He ...

, a short-lived federal agency.

Discussion

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Rees earned his bachelor's degree from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in 1943. He later received his master's degree and his doctorate in economics from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. After obtaining his Ph.D. in 1950, he went on to chair the economics department at Chicago from 1962 to 1966 before moving to Princeton as economics chair there. He later co-authored a landmark labor study with George P. Shultz. Another notable book, ''The Economics of Work and Pay,'' remained in print for two decades over at least six editions at

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

. Notable doctoral students at Princeton included the future Nobel Laureate

James Heckman James Joseph Heckman (born April 19, 1944) is an American economist and Nobel laureate who serves as the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago, where he is also a professor at the college, a pro ...

. He won many awards, including a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 1969 and election to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1971. Rees died on September 5, 1992, at University Medical Center of Princeton. Since 1997, Princeton University awards the "Albert Rees Prize" for an outstanding dissertation in labor economics.

has also established multiple Albert Rees prizes, including a Fellowship and an Assistantship.

Duke University Libraries Duke University Libraries is the library system of Duke University, serving the university's students and faculty. The Libraries collectively hold some 6 million volumes. The collection contains 17.7 million manuscripts, 1.2 million public docum ...

has a special collection with his papers. Additional special collections at

George Mason University Libraries George Mason University (GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father of the United Stat ...

and the Ford Presidential Library house archives for the

, of which he was the founding director.

Council on Wage and Price Stability

The Council on Wage and Price Stability (COWPS or CWPS) Act was signed into law by President Ford in 1974, with Rees as the new agency's first head. It replaced the formal

price controls Price controls are restrictions set in place and enforced by governments, on the prices that can be charged for goods and services in a market. The intent behind implementing such controls can stem from the desire to maintain affordability of go ...

from the

Nixon administration Richard Nixon's tenure as the 37th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 1974, in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office, the ...

authorized under its precursor, the

Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 The Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 (Title II of , formerly codified a12 U.S.C. § 1904 was a United States law that authorized the President to stabilize prices, rents, wages, salaries, interest rates, dividends and similar transfers as par ...

and its related agency, the

Pay Board and Price Commission Pay or PAY may refer to: *A wage or salary earned for work *The process of payment Places * Pay-e Borj, a village in Lorestan Province of Iran *Pay-e Kal-e Garab, a village in Ilam Province of Iran * Pay-e Rah, a village in Khuzestan Province of ...

. The council continued under

President Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, Carter served from 1971 to 1975 ...

, with

Alfred E. Kahn Alfred Edward Kahn (October 17, 1917 – December 27, 2010) was an American economist and political advisor who specialized in regulation and deregulation. He was an important influence in the deregulation of the airline and energy industries. ...

replacing Rees as its head under the new administration. When

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

took office in 1981, CWPS economists moved to the newly formed

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA ) is a division within the Office of Management and Budget under the Executive Office of the President. OIRA oversees the implementation of government-wide policies in, and reviews draft r ...

. Some labor and economic regulator responsibilities merged back into their historic homes with the

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces United States labor law, U.S. labor law in relation to collect ...

and the

Council of Economic Advisors The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a United States agency within the Executive Office of the President established in 1946, which advises the president of the United States on economic policy. The CEA provides much of the empirical resea ...

Selected publications

* * * * *

References

External links

Albert Rees Collection at Duke University

Council on Wage and Price Stability Archive at George Mason University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Albert 1921 births 1992 deaths Economists from New York (state) American academic administrators Writers from New York City Oberlin College alumni University of Chicago alumni Princeton University faculty Writers from New Jersey Writers from Chicago University of Chicago faculty Chicago School economists Alfred P. Sloan Foundation people United States presidential advisors Ford administration personnel American nonprofit chief executives New Jersey Republicans American people of Welsh descent American labor economists American economics writers George Mason University people Heads of United States federal agencies Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Economists from Illinois 20th-century American economists Journal of Political Economy editors

Discussion

Council on Wage and Price Stability

Selected publications

Archives

See also

References

External links