By Abhilasha
Yes, she is definitely superwoman! She is the most trusted woman in Barrack Obama’s life, and no, I’m not talking about Michelle Obama here!! This 67 year old female controls the economy of the world’s largest superpower and has proudly taken up that task sporting a wide smile on her face. Any guesses…I know you guys must have guessed it…it’s none other than Janet Yellen, the new chair of the Fed, replacing Ben Bernanke.
Janet Yellen is the first woman to be sworn in as the chair of the United States Federal reserve in the 100 years history of the central bank. Prior to this she was the vice chairwoman of the Fed and also the president of the Federal Bank of San Francisco and displayed exemplary skills of leadership during her tenure. Besides this, she was also the Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton and Professor Emerita at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. Quite an over-achiever I must say!
Yellen’s entire family seems to be in love with the subject of economics. With everyone specialising in their very own unique manner, they are a family of economics masterminds living together under the very same roof (quite a disaster in itself)! She herself has received her PhD in economics from Yale University and is married to Nobel Prize winning economist and Professor George Akerlof (well, in case you didn’t know…he’s the man behind the famous theory of Asymmetric Information) and is mother to Robert Akerlof, professor of economics (yet again) at the University of Warwick.
Coming to the Herculean task that rests on her shoulders, there are a number of challenges she is probable to face during the course of her office. Her predecessor, Ben Bernanke had to mastermind the Fed’s response to a series of tumultuous predicaments faced by the US economy including the sub-prime mortgage lending crisis and the near collapse of major financial institutions as a result of the great recession in the United States. To which the Fed responded by using what is known as ‘quantitative easing’ which in turn lead to the Fed’s balance sheet rising from 800 billion dollars before the financial crisis struck, to 4.0 trillion dollars last year, and seems to be heading for 4.5 trillion. Her task mainly lies in shrinking this. She has always been a strong advocate of the central bank’s ideology to spur economic growth and reduce unemployment and intends to carry on the legacy of doing so.
Ben Bernanke prognosticated that this woman will be able to complete all the tasks he left behind and was the perfect heir to inherit the control over the finances of United States of America. It will be interesting to see her lead the US economy and emerge as one of the most influential and powerful women in the coming years. All the best Ms Yellen! Break a leg!!
