For most Nigerians, the name Alan Greenspan does not evoke memories or, for that matter, ring a bell. But to most in the business world, he was that American of Jewish descent who influenced global economic policy as an economist and former chairman of the Federal Reserve, the United States’ central bank. He played that role under four presidents from 1987 to 2006.
He was known to have deftly navigated the crises arising from the 1987 stock market crash and the shock effects of the terror attacks of 9/11 on World Trade Centre. He presided over the 1990s boom even as he was criticised for policies linked to the dot-com and housing bubbles of his era.
Greenspan’s tenure was believed to have shaped the “Great Moderation” era of economic stability and sparked debates over deregulation.
He is best known for largely presiding over the Great Moderation, a period of relatively stable inflation and macroeconomic growth that lasted from the mid-1980s to the financial crisis in 2007. Also known for flexible monetary policies, Greenspan’s approach often prioritised preventing economic downturns over strict inflation control.
His term as Federal Chair saw the “Greenspan Put,” where investors expected the institution’s interventions to limit market losses, encouraging risk-taking.
Alan Greenspan was born in New York City on March 6, 1926. He received his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in economics, all from New York University, as well as studying economics at Columbia University in the early 1950s under Arthur Burns, who would later serve two consecutive terms as chair of the Board of Governors of the Reserve Bank.
Greenspan’s first job, in 1948, was not in government but for a non-profit analysing demand for steel, aluminium, and copper. After this, Greenspan ran an economic consulting firm in New York City.
He began his career in the public sector in 1974, serving as chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) under President Gerald Ford.
In 1987, Greenspan became the 13th chair of the Fed. President Ronald Reagan was the first to appoint Greenspan to the office, but three other presidents, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, named him to four additional terms, demonstrating resilience, continuity and policy consistency. His tenure as chair lasted for more than 18 years before he retired in 2006. After leaving office, he published his memoir, The Age of Turbulence, and founded his own Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm, Greenspan Associates LLC.
As Federal Reserve Chair, he was known for his assiduity at building consensus among Fed board members on policy issues and for serving during one of the most severe economic crises of the late 20th century, the aftermath of the stock market crash of 1987. After that crash, he advocated for sharply slashing interest rates to prevent the economy from sinking into a deep depression.
Greenspan was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush, making him the only Fed chair to receive the award.
It is on record that he presided over one of the most prosperous periods in American history. Still, some of his policies and actions were controversial, either at the time or in retrospect.
Early in his career, Greenspan developed a reputation as a hawk on inflation, in part due to his advocacy for a return to the gold standard in monetary policy.
His allegedly “hawkish” stance was portrayed by early critics as a preference for sacrificing economic growth to prevent inflation. Greenspan eventually reversed those views as Fed chief. In practice, his supposedly hawkish approach was anything but rigid. He was clearly willing to risk inflation under conditions that could trigger a severe depression and certainly pursued a generally easy-money policy. Greenspan presided over a series of interest rate cuts not seen in many decades.
This was just as he advocated reducing interest rates after the dot-com bubble burst. He did so again in 2001 after 9-11 and the World Trade Center attack.
Like many other government officials, the success of Alan Greenspan’s five terms as Chair of the Fed will depend on who you ask. However, it is certainly true that he faced significant challenges during his tenure, including the 1987 stock market crash and the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Overall, the Fed Chair helped usher in a strong U.S. economy in the 1990s. Opinions on how much his actions contributed to the economic recession that began shortly after his term ended vary.
Greenspan offered some thoughts about the future. He noted the ageing of the population and described its profound effects on the economy and economic policy. He predicted the housing boom will “inevitably simmer down,”that housing equity extraction will subside, and that consumers will increase their savings.
Whether the decline will be orderly or abrupt will depend, he said, on maintaining, if not increasing, the flexibility of economic institutions in the United States and abroad.
With respect to monetary policy, Greenspan expects continued refinement of the risk-management paradigm. However, he expressed skepticism about the usefulness of numerical inflation targets in the United States and the ability of central banks to successfully target asset prices.
He passed away on 22 June 2026, at the age of 100.