Director’s Welcome

On behalf of all of us affiliated with the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), I would like to welcome you to find out more about our institution.

Over the past twenty years, SIEPR scholars have made remarkable contributions toward improving economic policies. They have served at the Council of Economic Advisers, Treasury Department, Justice Department, International Monetary Fund, Federal Communications Commission, and Securities and Exchange Commission. They have worked on monetary policy, Social Security, tax policy, regulation and antitrust, the measurement of inflation, the design of spectrum auctions, corporate governance, and global environmental policy. There has been a focus on the economies of Silicon Valley, India, China, and Latin America. My view is that SIEPR has more impact per person or per dollar spent than any comparable institution in the world.

Research projects of SIEPR scholars have led to immediate and tangible changes in economic policy. For instance, one study found that the effective tax rate faced by large pension accumulations could be in excess of 95%. As a direct result of this study, the 15% tax on excess pension distributions was repealed. SIEPR researchers played key roles in introducing tradable emission rights as an effective and efficient environmental policy. They similarly contributed to the introduction of inflation-indexed Treasury securities. The FCC has relied on SIEPR scholars to help design the electromagnetic spectrum auctions that have raised billions of dollars for the U.S. Treasury. These are just some examples of the contributions of our research. The truth is that we are active in most of the important economic debates of the time—whether it is the California electricity crisis, stagnation in Japan, American welfare reform, or the Microsoft antitrust case.

We are equally proud of our other major product—the next generation of policy-oriented economists. SIEPR supports roughly one-third of the Ph.D. students in economics at Stanford University. This support includes both fellowships and research assistantships. The students work closely with the faculty, often producing joint research. Our former students are now working at the Federal Reserve, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund, as well as at a host of government agencies, prominent universities, and private companies. The important role of educating graduate students distinguishes SIEPR from most other economic think tanks.

Another defining characteristic of SIEPR is the interaction between its academics and its private-sector supporters. Unlike many organizations that try to keep these groups separate, our hallmark always has been to encourage the exchange of ideas between those researching the economy and those participating in it.

I hope you will get to know SIEPR better. After twenty years with the organization and two terms as its director, I am as excited today about this enterprise as I have ever been. I hope you will feel the same way too.

John B. Shoven
Wallace R. Hawley Director, SIEPR
Charles R. Schwab Professor of Economics