Dear NBER Family Members:
I am deeply honored, and humbled, to have the opportunity to serve as
the next President of the NBER. The Bureau is an extraordinary
organization, and Marty Feldstein has been a visionary leader. During
Marty's tenure, the NBER not only expanded in scale and scope, but
program meetings and the NBER Summer Institute became integral
components of the infrastructure of applied economics. With more than
one thousand Faculty Research Fellows and Research Associates today, the
NBER is an unparalleled source of careful, creative, non-partisan, and
relevant economic research.
I have been associated with the NBER for nearly thirty years - as a
research assistant, Faculty Research Fellow, Research Associate, and
Program Director. My involvement in the NBER has played a central role
in my own professional development. In leading this organization, I
hope to ensure that similar opportunities are available for newly-minted
economics researchers in the future.
I look forward to meeting and interacting with the many members of the
NBER family. I welcome your suggestions for improving the Bureau's
capacity to carry out research of the highest caliber and to disseminate
new findings to the economics research community as well as a broader
audience.
In the next few months, Marty and I will work together to ensure a
seamless transition on July 1. I will be working with NBER's nineteen
program directors and fifteen working group leaders to chart the future
course for NBER activities. I look forward to seeing you the the 2008
Summer Institute, and wish you all the best for the balance of the
Spring Semester.
Jim Poterba
Received on Mon Feb 25 2008 - 08:12:05 EST
