Henry Christopher Wallich (; June 10, 1914 – September 15, 1988) was a
German American
German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry.
According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...
economist who served as a member of the
Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 1974 to 1986. He previously served as a member of the
Council of the Economic Advisers under President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
. Wallich also held a professorship of economics at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. He was best known as an economic columnist for ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' magazine, from 1965 until he joined The Federal Reserve. For a period he wrote one week in three, with
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and ...
and
Paul Samuelson
Paul Anthony Samuelson (May 15, 1915 – December 13, 2009) was an American economist who was the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. When awarding the prize in 1970, the Swedish Royal Academies stated that he "h ...
, with their 1967 columns earning the magazine a
Gerald Loeb Special Award in 1968.
Early life
Wallich was born in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
on June 10, 1914, to
Paul and Hildegard Rehrmann Wallich. His father and paternal grandfather were both bankers. Wallich had a brother, Walter, and a sister, Christel. He began 10 years at the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the New York (state), State of New York, the 12 norther ...
in 1941, becoming chief of its foreign research division. He earned a Ph.D. (
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...
) from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in 1944, and became an American citizen in the same year.
Work
Wallich interests included the
developing country
A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreeme ...
economies in the
third world
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...
. He became a consultant to officials of
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
and
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
in the pre-
Castro era. He served on the advisory board of the
Arms Control
Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Historically, arms control may apply to melee wea ...
and
Disarmament
Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing Weapon, weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, ...
Agency in 1972-73 and was the United States representative on the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
Experts Panel on the Economic Consequences of the
Arms Race
An arms race occurs when two or more groups compete in military superiority. It consists of a competition between two or more State (polity), states to have superior armed forces, concerning production of weapons, the growth of a military, and ...
. Before joining the Federal Reserve Board, he was a director of the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company, the United Illuminating Company, the Lionel Edie Capital Fund and the First New Haven National Bank, and other institutions.
He was appointed by President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
as a Governor of the
Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...
, in 1974 as one of the Fed's seven Governors. and served until 1986, resigning from poor health.
EconPapers: Henry C. Wallich resigned as a member of the Board of Governors effective December 15, 1986
/ref>
Mr. Wallich's proposal espoused in 1971 with Sidney Weintraub, a liberal economist, for a tax-based incomes policy, or TIP. The plan, to control inflation, required an income-tax surcharge to be levied on companies raising their average wage level above specified inflation-related guide-lines. The Wallich-Weintraub plan never became law. He was the board's main emissary to the Bank for International Settlements, the institution in Basel, Switzerland, that serves the world's central banks.[Hershey, Robert D., Jr. (September 16, 1988).]
Henry C. Wallich, 74, Dies - Served on Federal Reserve
. ''New York Times''. nytimes.com. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
Personal life and later years
In 1950 he married Mable Inness Brown, an economist from Floral Park, Long Island. They met while both were working at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. After failing health and an operation on a brain tumour, he died in 1988 at George Washington University Hospital aged 74. He was survived by his wife, Mable, mother Hildegard, and children, Christine Wallich, Anna Wallich and Paul Wallich.
Works
*''The Mainsprings of the German Revival'' (1955)
*''The Cost of Freedom, Conservatives and Modern Capitalism, The Case For A Free Economy'' (1960)
Awards
* 1974 Gerald Loeb Award
The Gerald Loeb Awards, also referred to as the Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, is a recognition of excellence in journalism, especially in the fields of business, finance and the economy. The award was e ...
for Columns/Editorial for "Trust Busting the USA"
References
*''International Monetary Cooperation: Essays in Honor of Henry C. Wallich'' (1987)
Notes
External links
Statements and Speeches of Henry Christopher Wallich
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallich, Henry
1914 births
1988 deaths
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American economists
Federal Reserve System governors
Gerald Loeb Award winners for Columns, Commentary, and Editorials
Harvard University alumni
Nixon administration personnel
Ford administration personnel
Carter administration personnel
Reagan administration personnel
United States Council of Economic Advisers
German emigrants to the United States
Member of the Mont Pelerin Society