Brookings Institution
Who did Claudia Sahm work for in Jul 1999?
Claudia Sahm Claudia R . Sahm ( née Foster ) is an American economist . She was formerly director of macroeconomic policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth , and a Section Chief at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System , where she worked in various capacities from 2007-2019 . Sahm specializes in macroeconomics and household finance . She is the eponymous author of the Sahm Rule for identifying recessions in real-time . Life . In 1998 , Sahm received a bachelors degree in economics from Denison University , where she also studied political science and German . From 1998 to 1999 , Sahm was a Fulbright Scholar at the Technical University of Dresden , where she studied economic transitions in post-socialist countries . From 1999 to 2001 , Sahm worked at the Brookings Institution as a research assistant . Sahm began her PhD at the University of Michigan in 2001 , guided by Matthew D . Shapiro and Miles Spencer Kimball , completing her thesis Risk , Tolerance and Asset Allocation in 2007 . In 2007 , Sahm began working at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors as an economist , where her work was focused on examining consumer spending . Her first position was studying the impact of tax rebates . In 2013 she was promoted to Senior Economist , and in 2015 to Principal Economist , at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors . Sahm was a Senior Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers for the Obama Administration , where she worked on macroeconomic developments and housing policy from 2015 to 2016 . She studied the impact of unusual weather on economic data . She showed that people were less willing to take economic risks as they age . In September 2017 Sahm was promoted to Section Chief of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs . From October 2019 to September 2020 , she was director of macroeconomic policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth . In September 2020 , Sahm joined Bloomberg Opinion as a contributor and in October 2020 , she joined The New York Times as a Contributing Opinion Writer . Research . Sahm conducts research in macroeconomics with a focus on business cycles , fiscal stimulus and consumer behavior . Her research has appeared in numerous FEDS notes , books , and major academic journals . Outside the academic audience Sahm is known for the Sahm Rule , also known as the Sahm Recession Indicator:One reliable early signal of recession is the Sahm Rule : A downturn is probably occurring if the three-month average of the unemployment rate has risen by at least 0.5 percentage point above its low point in the previous 12 months . This rule [ ... ] has signaled every recession since 1970 with virtually no false positives.The Sahm Rule tracks the unemployment rate to detect upcoming and current recessions . As of 2021 , Sahm is a senior fellow , guaranteed income , at the Jain Family Institute . Other work . Sahm maintains the economics blog MacroMom . Sahm campaigns for more diversity in economics . She petitioned the American Economic Association to remove sexist comments on the website Economics Job Market Rumors ( EJMR ) . She is also known for her critiques of the culture of the economics profession , citing many specific examples of bullying and harassment she experienced , observed , or had reported to her by others , often directed at female and minority economists . Personal life . Sahm was married to Patrick Sahm , whom she met at Denison University , and with whom she has two children . She married health economist Colin Baker in 2020 . Awards . - 1998 : Fulbright Association , Fulbright Research Grant - 2006 : Institute for Social Research , Innovation in Social Research Award External links . - Claudia R . Sahm at the Federal Reserve - Claudia R . Sahm at IDEAS/RePEc - Claudia R . Sahm at AcademicTree