Arthur Laffer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Arthur Betz Laffer, Sr. (born August 14, 1940) is a supply side economist who became influential during the Reagan administration as a member of Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board (1981-1989). Laffer is best known for the Laffer curve, which demonstrates that in certain situations, a decrease in tax rates could result in an increase in tax revenues. Although he does not claim to have invented this concept (Laffer, 2004), it was popularized with policy-makers following an afternoon meeting with Dick Cheney in which he reportedly sketched the curve on a napkin to illustrate his argument (Wanninsky, 2005); the term "Laffer curve" was coined by Jude Wanniski (a writer for the Wall Street Journal), who was also present.

Related Topics:
August 14 - 1940 - Supply side - Economist - Reagan - Economic Policy Advisory Board - Laffer curve - Dick Cheney - Jude Wanniski - Wall Street Journal

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the time of the famous cocktail napkin incident, Laffer was on the faculty of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. Earlier in his USC tenure, Laffer played a key role in the writing of Proposition 13, the still-controversial California property tax cap initiative that spawned a host of similar laws around the United States and is generally credited with launching the tax revolt of the 1970s and 1980s. During the mid-1980s, Laffer and many other conservative USC faculty members decamped to Pepperdine University in nearby Malibu; Laffer remained on the faculty for several years.

Related Topics:
University of Southern California - Proposition 13 - Tax revolt - Pepperdine University - Malibu

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Laffer is the author and co-author of many books and newspaper articles, including '. An example of his recent work is an article entitled "Destination USA" concerning the trade deficit, which appeared in the January 3, 2005 The Wall Street Journal. The article argues that the trade deficit is an artifact of the American economy's strong structural features.

Related Topics:
Trade deficit - The Wall Street Journal

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Founder and CEO of Laffer Associates in San Diego, he received a BA in economics from Yale University in 1963. He graduated from Stanford University with an MBA in 1965 and a PhD in economics in 1971.

Related Topics:
Laffer Associates - San Diego - BA - Yale University - 1963 - Stanford University - MBA - 1965 - PhD - 1971

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He has six children. His followers include Lawrence Kudlow, the co-host of Kudlow & Co. on CNBC; and Donald Luskin, author of the blog The Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid.

Related Topics:
Lawrence Kudlow - Kudlow & Co. - CNBC - Donald Luskin - Blog

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unbeknownst to him, the computer game character Larry Laffer of the famous Leisure Suit Larry series of games was named after him. Arthur Laffer for years had no idea about the existence of the games until much later when Larry's creator, Al Lowe sent him a letter. Lowe planned to program a new application under the name Laffer Utilities featuring Larry and Lowe asked his permission about it. Laffer's secretary had played the games for years, but never made a connection. Laffer gave the permission and also paid a visit to the Sierra On-line studios.

Related Topics:
Computer game - Larry Laffer - Leisure Suit Larry - Al Lowe - Sierra On-line

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~