Michael Moskow on his path from Paterson, NJ to “…one of the best jobs you can have in Washington”

Michael Moskow, the vice chair and distinguished fellow, global economy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, discusses his work on labor relations, collective bargaining, and his numerous posts in both the private and public sectors, including at the U.S. Labor Department, and the Council of Economic Advisers. 

In this episode, Moscow and Ashenfelter discuss: 

• Moskow’s undergraduate career at Lafayette College in the 1950s and his graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania where his Ph.D. dissertation focused on collective bargaining for public school teachers. 
• His unique work on labor relations in the performing arts. “I wrote a pamphlet, [a] monograph on labor relations in the performing arts, one of the few things ever written on this subject.”
• Moskow’s work on the Council of Economic Advisers during the Nixon Administration. “I took this one-year leave of absence to go to Washington to the Council of Economic Advisers, and that was the height of the inflation problem. This is when Nixon came into office in 1969, [and] the number one problem was inflation.” 
• His efforts advocating for legislation establishing final offer arbitration and its failure at the Federal level. “[P]olitics intervened... He [Nixon] withdrew the law or the proposal. It was never proposed [and it] never became the law.”
• Moskow’s work at HUD to establish a direct cash assistance program. “I think there were about 10 economists in the United States who supported it and everyone else opposed it, but over time it did catch on and I think I'm very proud of the fact we made that contribution.” 
• Moskow’s work as a Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. “My beat was Japan, China, Southeast Asia, and certain industries like steel [and] airplanes.”
• Moskow’s positive evaluation of the Federal Reserve. “...it attracts very talented people who work hard and they're doing what's best for the American people... It's an independent entity, and the Fed leaders and people working there want to keep it independent….it's a great American institution and we want to keep it independent.” 

Michael Moskow earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He served as president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago from 1994 to 2007. He was a member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve System's most important monetary policymaking body.  "The Work Goes On"—a podcast produced by Princeton's Industrial Relations Section (IR Section)—is an oral history of industrial relations and labor economics hosted by Princeton's Orley Ashenfelter.