Oral history interview with Lawrence H. Summers, 2021
Abstract
Larry Summers reflects on the economic policy of the Obama administration, in which he served as director of the National Economic Council (NEC) from 2009 to 2011. Summers outlines the structure and function of the NEC, discusses the organization of economic policy expertise in the Obama White House, and describes the major economic challenges that the administration faced during the first term. Su mmers provides details about the major policy debates and initiatives with which he was closely involved, including those surrounding the size and content of the stimulus program, the administration's response to the housing crisis, the reform and regulation of the financial and healthcare industries, and federal support for struggling American automakers. Also discussed are the causes of the 2008 financial crisis, Summers's involvement in the 2008 presidential campaign, lessons from his service in the Clinton administration, his style as an economic policy advisor, and the public reception of the administration's economic policies
Presidents--United States; Bailouts (Government policy); Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009--United States; Health care reform--United States; Presidential campaigns--United States; Economic policy--United States; Summers, Lawrence H; Obama, Barack; National Economic Council (U.S.)
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
66 pages
Note (Biographical)
Larry Summers is an economist who served as an advisor to then president-elect Obama and as the director of the National Economic Council from 2009 through 2010. From 2001 to 2006, he was the president of Harvard University. Prior to Harvard, he serve d as secretary of the treasury from 1999 to 2001 during the Clinton administration
Note
Interviewed by Dov Weinryb Grohsgal on December 15 and 16, 2020, and April 23, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Lawrence H. Summers, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2022