In Honor of William Brainard and George Perry

摘要

The Brookings Papers on Economic Activity is a unique and amazing institution, created by three visionaries, two of whom we thank and appreciate in this volume, George Perry and William Brainard. We should not, however, forget the founding contributions of Arthur Okun, who died in 1980, even though many readers know them only from the classic Brookings Papers of the 1970s, still full of wisdom. The Brookings Papers was much more unique at its inception in 1970 than it is today, because it has inspired imitation and because Okun and Perry were the first to understand the value of a field-oriented, ongoing, academic conference series. In the 1960s there were no conference series in economic specialties.