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Alfred E. Kahn

Alfred Edward Kahn (October 17, 1917 – December 27, 2010) was an American economist and political advisor who specialized in regulation and deregulation. He was an important influence in the deregulation of the airline and energy industries.[1] Commonly known as the "Father of Airline Deregulation,"[2] he chaired the Civil Aeronautics Board during the period when it ended its regulation of the airline industry, paving the way for low-cost airlines, from People Express to Southwest Airlines.

Alfred E. Kahn
Born(1917-10-17)October 17, 1917
DiedDecember 27, 2010(2010-12-27) (aged 93)
EducationNew York University (BA)
Yale University (PhD)
Academic career
InstitutionCornell University

He was the Robert Julius Thorne Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at Cornell University.

Biography edit

Kahn was born in Paterson, New Jersey, on October 17, 1917, to parents Jacob and Bertha Kahn. His father, a Russian Jewish immigrant, worked in a silk mill.[3] Kahn graduated from high school at 15 and New York University at 18, summa cum laude (highest average in his graduating class). He earned his doctorate in economics from Yale University in 1942 after graduate study at NYU and the University of Missouri.

Before World War II, he also worked for policy research organizations and government agencies in Washington, including the Brookings Institution and the antitrust division of the U.S. Justice Department.[4] After serving in the United States Army, he became Chairman of the Department of Economics at Ripon College.

He moved to Cornell University in 1947, where he served as chairman emeritus of the Department of Economics (a position he held for the rest of his life), as a member of the Board of Trustees of the university and as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1974, he became chairman of the New York Public Service Commission, and later served as Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board, Advisor to the President on Inflation under Jimmy Carter, and Chairman of the Council on Wage and Price Stability, Carter's "inflation czar," until 1980. [5]

While serving under Carter, Kahn became known for his blunt and sometimes politically damaging comments. Convinced that certain administration policies would lead to a depression, but having been chided for using the term, he began saying that the economy would "become a banana." After banana producers objected, he changed his euphemism to "kumquat".[6] He explained inflation in one press conference by saying "Inflation occurs when everyone is trying to take a piece of the pie, but there isn't enough pie to go around." While President Carter tried to downplay the significance of certain economic figures, Kahn called them "a catastrophe." At one point, a frustrated Kahn offered his resignation, but Carter refused. Kahn joked, "I don't know why the president doesn't fire me. Actually, I do. There's no one else foolish enough to take this job."

He served on many private boards on commissions addressing regulated and deregulating industries such as electricity, telecommunications, and transportation. He also received numerous awards for his work in economics, regulation, and deregulation. A seminar room in the Lincoln Hall Music Library of Cornell University is named in his honor. He also maintained a long relationship with NERA Economic Consulting (formerly National Economic Research Associates). In 1982, he was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board.

In addition to his professorship at Cornell, Kahn sang baritone in university productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas from 1964 until retiring from the stage in 2000; he did a particularly fine turn as the Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe in the early 1970s. He was badly injured in a 2003 car crash, and endowed the New York hospital that saved him with funds to set up a camera traffic-surveillance system so that emergency-room doctors could view the accidents that injured their patients.

Kahn remained completely convinced that deregulating the airlines was a success. When a friend complained that increased numbers of passengers on flights resulted in him sitting next to "a filthy hippie" on a plane, he replied, "Since I haven't heard from the hippie, I can assume the distaste wasn't reciprocated." In 2008, the nonagenarian Kahn gave a speech to the Global Airport International Summit in Boston where he said, "The industry in the last 30 years gave the public something it had not received before: high quality, space, and low cost. It catered to a variety of demands and abilities today so that we had an enormous spread of fares. It offered the people upgrades such as business class and frequent flyer miles." Admitting that he was no expert on airplanes or the fine details of the industry, Kahn once said "I can't tell one plane from the other. To me, they're all just marginal costs with wings."

Kahn was the father-in-law of Daniel Mark Fogel, president of the University of Vermont.[7]

Professor Kahn died of cancer in Ithaca, New York at the age of 93, on December 27, 2010.[8]

Work in deregulation edit

Kahn's strong advocacy of deregulation stemmed largely from his understanding as an economist of marginal-cost theory. In his time at the New York Public Service Commission he was instrumental in using marginal costs to help price electricity and telecommunications services; this was novel at the time but is routinely performed today.[citation needed]

While serving as Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which regulated commercial airline fares, in 1977–1978, Kahn (a self-described "good liberal Democrat")[9] oversaw the deregulation of commercial air fares. As one analyst put it, Kahn "set to work with … other progressives" including Senator Edward Kennedy, future Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader to "dismantle anti-consumer cartels that had been sustained by government regulation."[9] At the same time the CAB was disbanded, as deregulation of commercial air fares made the agency no longer necessary. This is one of the very few examples of a regulatory agency deregulating itself out of existence.[citation needed]

He consistently argued that, where feasible, complete deregulation is preferable to partial deregulation. "The verdict of the great majority of economists would, I believe, be that deregulation has been a success — bearing in mind, as always, the central argument … that society's choices are always between or among imperfect systems, but that, wherever it seems likely to be effective, even very imperfect competition is preferable to regulation …. Recent experience clearly suggests, instead, that the mixed system may be the worst of both possible worlds."[10]

In an interview with USA Today,[11] he said he wished he could have deregulated the telecommunications industry.

He served as an expert witness in many regulatory matters, particularly in issues regarding flat rate pricing for telecommunications, marginal costing in both telecommunications and electricity, and net neutrality. After his death, The Economist wrote:

And though, being an economist, he could not help muttering about the imperfection of societies and systems and the absurdity of predictions — and though, being an inveterate puncturer of himself, he would demand a paternity test if anyone called him the father of the deregulated world — his adventures with airlines led on to the freeing of the trucking, telecoms and power industries, and heralded the Thatcherite and Reaganite revolutions.[12]

Published works edit

Kahn was the author of numerous books, including The Economics of Regulation: Principles and Institutions, Lessons from Deregulation: Telecommunications and Airlines After the Crunch, Whom the Gods Would Destroy, or How Not to Deregulate,[13] Letting Go: Deregulating the Process of Deregulation, and Great Britain in the World Economy. Kahn also authored many articles, and was for many years a commentator on PBS's The Nightly Business Report.

Besides his love for numbers, Kahn also loved words, and "hated to see them misused." Even after his death, he was acknowledged as "a champion of plain English...an economist who could do without 'herein' and 'therein'."[14]

Awards edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Economist Alfred Kahn, 'father of airline deregulation' and former presidential adviser, dies at 93".
  2. ^ Russell, George (September 29, 1986). . Time. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2008.
  3. ^ McCraw, Thomas K. (1984). Prophets of Regulation. Cambridge: Belknap Press. ISBN 0-674-71607-8.
  4. ^ "Alfred Kahn, Father of 1970s Airline Deregulation, Dies at 93". Bloomberg.com. December 28, 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
  5. ^ (PDF). Cornell Chronicle. Cornell University. July 14, 1983. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2008.
  6. ^ Hershy Jr., Robert D. (December 28, 2010). "Alfred E. Kahn Dies at 93; Prime Mover of Airline Deregulation". New York Times.
  7. ^ Hemingway, Sam (May 25, 2011). "At UVM, personal crisis becomes public concern". Burlington Free Press. Archived from the original on August 31, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  8. ^ . Archived from the original on January 1, 2011.
  9. ^ a b Thierer, Adam (December 21, 2010) Who'll Really Benefit from Net Neutrality Regulation?, CBS News
  10. ^ Kahn, Alfred (1970). . The MIT Press. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  11. ^ Reed, Dan (July 23, 2007). "Wrath of Kahn kept airfares low". USA Today. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  12. ^ "Obituary: Alfred Kahn". The Economist. January 22, 2010. from the original on January 27, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  13. ^ Alfred Edward Kahn (2001). Whom the Gods Would Destroy, Or, How Not to Deregulate. American Enterprise Institute. ISBN 978-0-8447-7156-4.
  14. ^ Frank, Robert H. (January 9, 2011). "A Champion of Plain English". The New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2013.

alfred, kahn, clergyman, hymn, writer, fred, kaan, alfred, edward, kahn, october, 1917, december, 2010, american, economist, political, advisor, specialized, regulation, deregulation, important, influence, deregulation, airline, energy, industries, commonly, k. For the clergyman and hymn writer see Fred Kaan Alfred Edward Kahn October 17 1917 December 27 2010 was an American economist and political advisor who specialized in regulation and deregulation He was an important influence in the deregulation of the airline and energy industries 1 Commonly known as the Father of Airline Deregulation 2 he chaired the Civil Aeronautics Board during the period when it ended its regulation of the airline industry paving the way for low cost airlines from People Express to Southwest Airlines Alfred E KahnBorn 1917 10 17 October 17 1917Paterson New Jersey U S DiedDecember 27 2010 2010 12 27 aged 93 Ithaca New York U S EducationNew York University BA Yale University PhD Academic careerInstitutionCornell UniversityHe was the Robert Julius Thorne Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at Cornell University Contents 1 Biography 2 Work in deregulation 3 Published works 4 Awards 5 ReferencesBiography editKahn was born in Paterson New Jersey on October 17 1917 to parents Jacob and Bertha Kahn His father a Russian Jewish immigrant worked in a silk mill 3 Kahn graduated from high school at 15 and New York University at 18 summa cum laude highest average in his graduating class He earned his doctorate in economics from Yale University in 1942 after graduate study at NYU and the University of Missouri Before World War II he also worked for policy research organizations and government agencies in Washington including the Brookings Institution and the antitrust division of the U S Justice Department 4 After serving in the United States Army he became Chairman of the Department of Economics at Ripon College He moved to Cornell University in 1947 where he served as chairman emeritus of the Department of Economics a position he held for the rest of his life as a member of the Board of Trustees of the university and as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences In 1974 he became chairman of the New York Public Service Commission and later served as Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board Advisor to the President on Inflation under Jimmy Carter and Chairman of the Council on Wage and Price Stability Carter s inflation czar until 1980 5 While serving under Carter Kahn became known for his blunt and sometimes politically damaging comments Convinced that certain administration policies would lead to a depression but having been chided for using the term he began saying that the economy would become a banana After banana producers objected he changed his euphemism to kumquat 6 He explained inflation in one press conference by saying Inflation occurs when everyone is trying to take a piece of the pie but there isn t enough pie to go around While President Carter tried to downplay the significance of certain economic figures Kahn called them a catastrophe At one point a frustrated Kahn offered his resignation but Carter refused Kahn joked I don t know why the president doesn t fire me Actually I do There s no one else foolish enough to take this job He served on many private boards on commissions addressing regulated and deregulating industries such as electricity telecommunications and transportation He also received numerous awards for his work in economics regulation and deregulation A seminar room in the Lincoln Hall Music Library of Cornell University is named in his honor He also maintained a long relationship with NERA Economic Consulting formerly National Economic Research Associates In 1982 he was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board In addition to his professorship at Cornell Kahn sang baritone in university productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas from 1964 until retiring from the stage in 2000 he did a particularly fine turn as the Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe in the early 1970s He was badly injured in a 2003 car crash and endowed the New York hospital that saved him with funds to set up a camera traffic surveillance system so that emergency room doctors could view the accidents that injured their patients Kahn remained completely convinced that deregulating the airlines was a success When a friend complained that increased numbers of passengers on flights resulted in him sitting next to a filthy hippie on a plane he replied Since I haven t heard from the hippie I can assume the distaste wasn t reciprocated In 2008 the nonagenarian Kahn gave a speech to the Global Airport International Summit in Boston where he said The industry in the last 30 years gave the public something it had not received before high quality space and low cost It catered to a variety of demands and abilities today so that we had an enormous spread of fares It offered the people upgrades such as business class and frequent flyer miles Admitting that he was no expert on airplanes or the fine details of the industry Kahn once said I can t tell one plane from the other To me they re all just marginal costs with wings Kahn was the father in law of Daniel Mark Fogel president of the University of Vermont 7 Professor Kahn died of cancer in Ithaca New York at the age of 93 on December 27 2010 8 Work in deregulation editKahn s strong advocacy of deregulation stemmed largely from his understanding as an economist of marginal cost theory In his time at the New York Public Service Commission he was instrumental in using marginal costs to help price electricity and telecommunications services this was novel at the time but is routinely performed today citation needed While serving as Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board CAB which regulated commercial airline fares in 1977 1978 Kahn a self described good liberal Democrat 9 oversaw the deregulation of commercial air fares As one analyst put it Kahn set to work with other progressives including Senator Edward Kennedy future Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and consumer advocate Ralph Nader to dismantle anti consumer cartels that had been sustained by government regulation 9 At the same time the CAB was disbanded as deregulation of commercial air fares made the agency no longer necessary This is one of the very few examples of a regulatory agency deregulating itself out of existence citation needed He consistently argued that where feasible complete deregulation is preferable to partial deregulation The verdict of the great majority of economists would I believe be that deregulation has been a success bearing in mind as always the central argument that society s choices are always between or among imperfect systems but that wherever it seems likely to be effective even very imperfect competition is preferable to regulation Recent experience clearly suggests instead that the mixed system may be the worst of both possible worlds 10 In an interview with USA Today 11 he said he wished he could have deregulated the telecommunications industry He served as an expert witness in many regulatory matters particularly in issues regarding flat rate pricing for telecommunications marginal costing in both telecommunications and electricity and net neutrality After his death The Economist wrote And though being an economist he could not help muttering about the imperfection of societies and systems and the absurdity of predictions and though being an inveterate puncturer of himself he would demand a paternity test if anyone called him the father of the deregulated world his adventures with airlines led on to the freeing of the trucking telecoms and power industries and heralded the Thatcherite and Reaganite revolutions 12 Published works editKahn was the author of numerous books including The Economics of Regulation Principles and Institutions Lessons from Deregulation Telecommunications and Airlines After the Crunch Whom the Gods Would Destroy or How Not to Deregulate 13 Letting Go Deregulating the Process of Deregulation and Great Britain in the World Economy Kahn also authored many articles and was for many years a commentator on PBS s The Nightly Business Report Besides his love for numbers Kahn also loved words and hated to see them misused Even after his death he was acknowledged as a champion of plain English an economist who could do without herein and therein 14 Awards editL Welch Pogue Award for Lifetime Achievement in Aviation 1997References edit Economist Alfred Kahn father of airline deregulation and former presidential adviser dies at 93 Russell George September 29 1986 Flying Amid the Merger Clouds Time Archived from the original on November 6 2012 Retrieved January 12 2008 McCraw Thomas K 1984 Prophets of Regulation Cambridge Belknap Press ISBN 0 674 71607 8 Alfred Kahn Father of 1970s Airline Deregulation Dies at 93 Bloomberg com December 28 2010 Retrieved December 28 2010 Inflation Czar will take apart his title PDF Cornell Chronicle Cornell University July 14 1983 Archived from the original PDF on October 1 2011 Retrieved March 25 2008 Hershy Jr Robert D December 28 2010 Alfred E Kahn Dies at 93 Prime Mover of Airline Deregulation New York Times Hemingway Sam May 25 2011 At UVM personal crisis becomes public concern Burlington Free Press Archived from the original on August 31 2013 Retrieved May 25 2011 Architect of airline deregulation dies in NY at 93 BusinessWeek Archived from the original on January 1 2011 a b Thierer Adam December 21 2010 Who ll Really Benefit from Net Neutrality Regulation CBS News Kahn Alfred 1970 The Economics of Regulation The MIT Press Archived from the original on June 29 2011 Retrieved November 30 2010 Reed Dan July 23 2007 Wrath of Kahn kept airfares low USA Today Retrieved August 7 2007 Obituary Alfred Kahn The Economist January 22 2010 Archived from the original on January 27 2011 Retrieved January 27 2011 Alfred Edward Kahn 2001 Whom the Gods Would Destroy Or How Not to Deregulate American Enterprise Institute ISBN 978 0 8447 7156 4 Frank Robert H January 9 2011 A Champion of Plain English The New York Times Retrieved July 15 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alfred E Kahn amp oldid 1185746477, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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