Jason Furman

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Jason Furman
New Keynesian economics
Jason Furman 2011.jpg
Born c. 1970 (age 42–43)
Nationality United States
Field Macroeconomics, Economic policy
Influences Joseph Stiglitz, Robert Rubin

Jason Furman (born 1970) is an economist. On January 28, 2009, Furman was named Deputy Director of the National Economic Council in the administration of President Barack Obama, whom he'd been advising since the latter stages of the 2008 presidential campaign. He has been widely criticized in the past.[1]

Life and career [edit]

Furman's research and policy focus includes the subjects of taxes, health care, and the U.S. Social Security program. Furman's qualified defense of Wal-Mart's business model provoked criticism from some labor organizations when he joined Obama's 2008 campaign.

Furman graduated from The Dalton School in 1988. In 1996, while he was a graduate student at Harvard, Furman was hired by economist Joseph Stiglitz to serve a one-year stint as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy in the Clinton Administration and on staff of the Council of Economic Advisers. He later worked with Stiglitz at the World Bank. Furman was involved to varying degrees with the Presidential campaigns of Al Gore and General Wesley Clark. In 2004, he took a position as Director of Economic Policy for the John Kerry Presidential campaign in 2004.

Furman received an MSc from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. Also at Harvard, Furman earned a bachelor's in social studies and a master's in government. He has worked with former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin.

In recent years, Furman has worked as a budget expert at the Brookings Institution. There, he directed the Hamilton Project, an economic policy research group that develops policy proposals to achieve shared economic growth.[2]

He was a Visiting Scholar at New York University's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.[3] He has been a visiting lecturer at Columbia and Yale Universities.

He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Eve Gerber, and their two children, Henry and Louisa. Gail Furman, Furman's mother, heads a family foundation ("The Furman Foundation, Inc.") that funds mostly left-leaning nonprofit groups.[4]

His hobbies include juggling.

Furman is often parodied on the Glenn Beck Program as Obama advisor "Honkey Whitesville," a recurring call-in guest portrayed by Steve Burguiere.

References [edit]

External links [edit]