Ben Harris (economist)

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Ben Harris
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy
In office
November 15, 2021 – March 30, 2023
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byMichael Faulkender
Succeeded byVacant
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJessica Lynn
EducationTufts University (BA)
Fulbright Scholar (Namibia)
Columbia University (MA)
Cornell University (MA)
George Washington University (MPhil, PhD)

Benjamin H. Harris is an American economist who is currently the Vice President and Director of the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution.[1][2] Throughout his career, he has served in several public-service positions, most notably as the chief economist and chief economic advisor to Vice President Joe Biden from 2014 until the end of the Obama administration, and as Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy and Chief Economist of the U.S. Treasury. Harris was the executive director of the Kellogg Public-Private Initiative at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University,[3] the Chief Economist to the evidence-based policy organization Results for America,[4] and the founder of the economic policy consulting firm Cherrydale Strategies.[5] He has been a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal[6] and regularly appears on cable television to discuss macroeconomics[7] and public policy.[8]

Harris remained a close adviser to Joe Biden following the end of the Obama administration, serving as the chief editor of the Biden Forum [9][2] and as the economic adviser to the former vice president throughout his 2020 presidential campaign.[10][11][12] In a feature article, the New York Times dubbed him the “Quiet Architect of Biden’s Plan to Rescue the Economy.”[13]

Early life and education[edit]

Harris is a native of Washington state, and was raised primarily on Bainbridge Island. He graduated from Bainbridge High School in 1995.[14]

He holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Washington University, which he earned in 2011, in addition to three master's degrees: an M.Phil. in economics from George Washington University in 2010, an M.A. in economics from Cornell University in 2005, and an M.A. in quantitative methods from Columbia University in 2003.

Harris earned his B.A. in economics from Tufts University in 1999. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Namibia in 2000.[15]

Career[edit]

One of the earliest roles for Harris was as a senior economist with the Budget Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. He went on to serve as a research economist at the Brookings Institution, and later as the policy director of The Hamilton Project,[16] a fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, and deputy director of the Retirement Security Project at Brookings.

Between 2011 and 2013, Harris worked at the White House as a senior economist with the Council of Economic Advisers, where he specialized in fiscal policy and retirement security. After leaving his first stint with the Obama administration, he served as a senior research associate with the Urban Institute and the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

In December 2014, Harris returned to the White House when Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. tapped him to serve as his chief economist and economic advisor. He continued in that role through the end of the Obama administration in January 2017.

After leaving the White House, Harris went to work for Rokos Capital Management as a senior economic policy adviser.[17] He quickly made a transition back to academic and nonprofit work, serving as the chief economist to the evidence-based policy organization Results for America, chief editor of the Biden Forum,[2] and professor at the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. In August 2023, he returned to the Brookings Institution to serve as the Vice President and Director of the Economic Studies program.

Harris had a prominent role in shaping the economic policy platforms of the Biden 2020 presidential campaign, and was identified as one of a select group of economists regularly advising Biden.[18][11][19] Harris was one of the campaign's most active surrogates, and was named a member of the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force, serving as one of Biden's five delegates on the economic policy committee.[20][21] In a November 2020 New York Times article highlighting Harris’ contributions to the Biden campaign platform, Harris was dubbed the “Quiet Architect of Biden’s Plan to Rescue the Economy.” Biden would frequently mention Harris in policy speeches.[22][23] In April 2020, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Harris will sit on the Chicago COVID-19 Recovery Task Force to advise city government as economic recovery planning efforts get underway in the wake of COVID-19.[24][25]

On March 11, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Harris to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy.[26] On April 22, 2021, his nomination was sent to the Senate.,[27] and he assumed office on November 15, 2021.[28] During his time with the Treasury Department, Harris was widely recognized as a principal official driving the creation and implementation of the price cap on Russian oil.[29][30][31] In February 2023, it was announced that Harris would be leaving his position at the Treasury Department.[32] He stepped down in March 2023.[33]

Throughout his career, Harris has taught at various institutions including the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, and Georgetown University.

He and his wife Jessica live in the Washington, D.C. area with their three daughters.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Brookings Institution announces Ben Harris as Vice President and Director of Economic Studies". Brookings Institution. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Biden Foundation welcomes new policy staff - Biden Foundation". Biden Foundation. October 19, 2017. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  3. ^ "Ben Harris - Faculty - Kellogg School of Management". www.kellogg.northwestern.edu. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  4. ^ "Ben Harris Joins Results for America as Chief Economist and Senior Advisor - Results for America". Results for America. July 6, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  5. ^ "About". Cherrydale Strategies. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  6. ^ "Benjamin Harris". WSJ.com. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  7. ^ "Not surprised by Moody's negative U.S. outlook, former economic advisor to Biden says". CNBC. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  8. ^ Ben Harris on Biden Forming Debt Ceiling Working Group, July 24, 2023, retrieved February 8, 2024
  9. ^ "Staff -Biden Foundation - A new stage of public service". Biden Foundation. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  10. ^ Yglesias, Matthew (December 18, 2018). "Joe Biden is leading the 2020 polls. Here's what he thinks about policy". Vox. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Burns, Alexander; Goldmacher, Shane; Glueck, Katie (April 25, 2020). "A Candidate in Isolation: Inside Joe Biden's Cloistered Campaign". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  12. ^ Tankersley, Jim (November 2, 2020). "The Quiet Architect of Biden's Plan to Rescue the Economy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  13. ^ "The Quiet Architect of Biden´s Plan to Rescue the Economy". Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  14. ^ "Q&A with Ben Harris: Bainbridge Islander is top economic advisor to VP Joe Biden - Bainbridge Island Review". Bainbridge Island Review. May 27, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  15. ^ "U.S. Fulbright Online". us.fulbrightonline.org. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  16. ^ "The Hamilton Project at Brookings Announces New Leadership Team". Brookings. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  17. ^ "Rokos Capital Management has enlisted a top White House economist". eFinancialCareers. September 1, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  18. ^ Thomas, Ken (April 5, 2020). "Biden, Brain Trust Craft Coronavirus Agenda". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  19. ^ Debenedetti, Gabriel (May 11, 2020). "Biden Is Planning an FDR-Size Presidency". Intelligencer. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  20. ^ Nilsen, Ella (May 13, 2020). "Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are building new, policy-focused task forces". Vox. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  21. ^ "Biden, Sanders Unveil Policy Groups Including AOC, Kerry, Holder - BNN Bloomberg". BNN. May 13, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  22. ^ Building a High Wage America: Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden, retrieved February 8, 2024
  23. ^ "Joe Biden's ideas to help the middle class". Brookings. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  24. ^ "GOP stalwart Skinner to lead Lightfoot's new recovery task force". Crain's Chicago Business. April 23, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  25. ^ Baca, Stacey (April 23, 2020). "Coronavirus Chicago; Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force". ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  26. ^ "President Biden Announces Intent to Nominate Key Roles for the Department of Treasury". The White House. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  27. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate". The White House. April 22, 2021.
  28. ^ U.S. Treasury Department Twitter post, November 15, 2021, https://twitter.com/USTreasury/status/1460361016861200401?lang=en
  29. ^ "The Origins and Efficacy of the Price Cap on Russian Oil". Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  30. ^ "Architect of Russia Oil-Price Cap Says There's a Fix for Weakening Program". Bloomberg.com. October 9, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  31. ^ "Former US official urges strict enforcement to keep squeezing Russian oil revenues". Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  32. ^ Nichols, Hans (February 24, 2023). "Ben Harris, top Treasury economist and architect of Russian oil cap, plans to depart". Axios. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  33. ^ "Ben Harris". LinkedIn. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
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