donald l kohn : research at the federal reserve board - the contributions of henderson, porter, and tinsley remarks by mr donald l kohn, member of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, at the federal reserve board models and monetary policy conference, washington, dc, 26 march 2004. * * * i try not to reflect too much on my growing role as the one left behind who speaks at retirements and occasions such as this ; but i am pleased, nonetheless, to participate in this conference and to have the opportunity to pay tribute to these three leaders of research at the federal reserve. i have known dale, dick, and peter a long time in my various roles here as staff economist, division director, and board member. actually, i met dale first, when i was still at the federal reserve bank of kansas city, visiting washington to interview for a job in the research and statistics division at the board. at that time dale spent a whole afternoon trying to help me figure out the analytics of an article i was writing for the kansas city economic review. a frustrating experience i am sure for dale, and a frustration that peter and dick were soon to encounter, but one that improved the piece immeasurably. i had decided to come here in any case if i got a job offer, but my experience with dale just reinforced my desire and my excitement at the opportunity to work with people of his caliber and his willingness to understand and help his colleagues and would - be colleagues. i began to work with dick and peter sometime after i arrived here. it took a while, inasmuch as they were over at the watergate in temporary quarters while the martin building was under construction. i suspected that folks over there were having more fun than those of us slaving away in the eccles building under adult supervision - a suspicion later confirmed when i found out that the “ one step down ” so often mentioned by watergate economists did not refer to the entrance to the computer center, but rather to a certain watering hole on pennsylvania avenue. the watergate seemed somewhat alien and forbidding territory to a current analyst. but as i became more involved in the research work and as they migrated back to the martin building, i found dick and peter and the other researchers just as stimulating and congenial colleagues as i had anticipated. i want to highlight and celebrate their careers here, but i want to do so in the context of our overall research effort and its critical role

the most important contributions these three made were as colleagues and leaders. they have reminded us every day in our interactions with them that ideas are important and that policy must have a rigorous intellectual framework - one capable of being discussed and tested. they have insisted that policy analysis incorporate the latest insights from economic theory and econometrics. they have fought the philistines who saw research as a soft target in times of budget crunch ; they made sure the board did not eat its intellectual seed corn. they recognized that one role of research at the board has been to challenge the policymakers, to be an irritant - sometimes with considerable success - to think outside the tidy intellectual boxes too often found in the minds of division directors and board members. my early encounter with dale on my kansas city fed article was indeed characteristic. each has always been willing to lend a hand working through a tough problem and helping explain to a slower colleague - over - and - over again, in my case. they have been active recruiters and mentors to generations of economists, leading as much by example as by the particular position they happened to occupy in the staff bureaucracy. they have been worthy inheritors of the proud tradition and have made it even better. dale, dick, peter, on behalf of all your colleagues past, present, and future, thank you.