Arthur F. Burns Quotes

Arthur Frank Burns was born in Stanislawow, Galicia. He was an American economist. His career alternated between academia and government. From 1927 to the 1970s, Burns taught and researched at Rutgers University, Columbia University, and the National Bureau of Economic Research. Burns was the chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisors from 1953 to 1956 under Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency. In 1953, he stated the American economy's "ultimate purpose is to produce more consumer goods." He served as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1970 to 1978 and as Ambassador to West Germany from 1981 to 1985. He worked in jobs ranging from postal clerk to shoe salesman during his time at Columbia as a student before earning his B.A. and M.A. in 1925, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. In 1933, Burns joined the NBER under Mitchell's guidance and began a lifelong study of business cycles. He received his Ph.D. in economics a year later. In 1945, Burns became a professor at Columbia University.