James Butkiewicz
Professor, Economics | University of Delaware
Newark, DE, UNITED STATES
Prof. Butkiewicz specializes in policy analysis, financial crises, the Great Depression, and determinants of economic growth.
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Biography
James L. Butkiewicz is Professor of Economics in the Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware. He received his B.A. in economics from Wilkes College and his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Virginia. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of economic growth, macroeconomic policy analysis, monetary economics, and the economics of the Great Depression. He has published journal articles in the areas of monetary policy analysis, fiscal policy analysis, the determinants of economic growth, regional economic development, macroeconomic policy in the early 20th century, the history of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and Richard Nixon’s economic policies. With Jeffrey Miller and the late Ken Koford, he is the co-editor of Keynes' Economic Legacy: Contemporary Macroeconomic Theories.
During his academic career, he has served as Department Chair (twice), Associate Dean of the college (twice) and as Director of Graduate Studies in economics. He has been a visiting professor at the Faculte de Sciences Economiques et de Gestion, Universite Lumiere (Lyon 2), in Lyon, France. In addition, he served on the editorial board of the Eastern Economic Journal from 2001 - 2015 and was acting editor for eleven months during 2004-2005, and Associate Editor from 2005-2015. He has held several public service positions and is a frequent commentator on economic issues for the media.
Industry Expertise (2)
Research
Education/Learning
Areas of Expertise (5)
Economic Growth
Economics
Policy Analysis
Monetary Theory
History
Media Appearances (5)
Fed's mission creep has turned its monetary policy into a failed mission
Washington Examiner online
2022-10-25
The Federal Reserve's handling of monetary policy during the past five years will be the subject of critical reviews for years to come. Was the massive increase in the Fed’s securities holdings necessary? Did the Fed’s purchase of $2.75 trillion of mortgage-backed securities create an artificial and disruptive bubble in the housing market? Did the Fed stoke the inflationary fires for far too long? Was it behind the curve in trying to put out the fire? How responsible is the Fed for the highest inflation rate in 40 years?
Fed faces pressure to act as Americans' views of economy darken
WKRC-TV online
2022-01-26
As the Federal Reserve moves to address surging inflation, darkening consumer sentiment could present new obstacles for the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID doesn’t shut down spending over holidays in Delaware
Delaware State News online
2022-01-06
While new cases of COVID-19 surged during the holiday season, so did consumer spending. Retailers, both online and in brick-and-mortar shops, saw a boost in shopping from Nov. 1 through Christmas Eve.
'This is going to take a while' | UD profs expect supply chain disruptions to last through the holidays - at least
WDEL online
2021-11-17
Prices on just about everything seem to be ticking up across the board, and a pair of University of Delaware professors don't see relief anytime soon. From foods to products, the pinch at the checkout is expected to linger.
'Overdraft' screened
University of Delaware UDaily online
2013-03-01
While America’s debt crisis has been a topic of concern and debate for several years, the nonpartisan documentary Overdraft takes a step back from bipartisan distractions and concentrates on examining the facts surrounding the deficit and resultant effects on the American public.
Articles (5)
Ending Bretton Woods: evidence from the Nixon tapes
The Economic History Review2021 Richard Nixon's August 1971 announcement of a set of policies known collectively as the New Economic Policy (NEP), or the ‘Nixon shock’, effectively terminated the Bretton Woods system (BWS) of fixed exchange rates that had governed the international monetary system since 1944.
The political economy of wage and price controls: evidence from the Nixon tapes
Public Choice2017 In late July, 1971, Nixon reiterated his adamant opposition to wage and price controls calling them a scheme to socialize America. Yet, less than a month later, in a stunning reversal, he imposed the first and only peacetime wage and price controls in U.S. history. The Nixon tapes, personal tape recordings made during the presidency of Richard Nixon, provide a unique body of evidence to investigate the motivations for Nixon’s stunning reversal.
The original Operation Twist: the War Finance Corporation's war bond purchases, 1918–1920
Financial History Review2016 In 1918 the United States Treasury delegated to the War Finance Corporation, a newly created off-budget federal agency, the task of buying Liberty bonds and later Victory notes in an effort to stabilize prices. Bayesian vector autoregression analysis of the security purchases indicates that the WFC purchases provided statistically significant price support, and marginally lowered bond yields while the program operated. Once WFC purchases ended, war bond yields increased substantially.
Eugene Meyer and the German Influence on the Origin of US Federal Financial Rescues
Journal of the History of Economic Thought2015 While federal financial rescues have become a common response to crises, the federal provision of finance was not one of the original powers of the federal government. One man, Eugene Meyer, is largely responsible for the origin of federal financial rescues, through both the War Finance Corporation and Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
Financial crisis, monetary policy reform and the monetary transmission mechanism in Turkey
Middle East Development Journal2014 Turkey experienced a financial crisis in 2000–2001, which led to significant financial reforms. The reforms resulted in a switch to a floating exchange rate, granted greater central bank independence and pursuit of a more credible monetary policy. Investigation of the channels of monetary policy in both periods finds that monetary policy's output effects have been strengthened considerably by the reforms.
Accomplishments (2)
James B. O’Neill Award for Excellence in Economic Education and Entrepreneurship (professional)
2017
Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award (professional)
1998 College of Business and Economics, University of Delaware
Education (2)
University of Virginia: PhD, Economics 1977
Wilkes College: BA, Economics 1971
Magna Cum Laude
Affiliations (5)
- American Economic Association
- Eastern Economic Association
- Economic History Association
- Southern Economic Association
- Phi Kappa Phi
Links (3)
Event Appearances (3)
Housing Price Bubbles in Developed Economies - A Bayesian Modeling Approach
Southern Economic Association Conference
2015-11-16
Assessing the First Federal Financial Rescue: The Case of the War Finance Corporation
Eastern Economic Association Conference
2015-02-28
Money Workshop
Economic History Review organized workshop Zoom
2021-10-01
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