Federal Reserve deputy chair Janet Yellen is likely to take over as the next head of the United States Federal Reserve, after a US Senate banking committee approved her nomination.
Ms Yellen was nominated for the role by president Barack Obama last month. The nomination was hardly a surprise for American financial and political experts, as leading nominee for the role Larry Summers announced that he would not seek to become the Fed’s chair in September.
While Ben Bernanke has been the Federal Reserve’s chair for the past eight years of operations, Ms Yellen has been in the second role for just two years. Despite this, she has extensive experience in finance and economics, having taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Harvard University, and the London School of Economics.
Despite her success in the deputy role, Ms Yellen has been criticised by conservative economists, who believe that her ‘dove’ approach to economic policy could result in increased inflation for the United States. Ms Yellen has been mentioned as a strong supporter of government-backed stimulus measures in order to drive growth.
Her critics claim that continued stimulus policies could result in inflation and long-term debt increases. Supporters have noted that her policies are largely the same as those of her predecessor Mr Bernanke, and that the United States economy is now in a phase of growth and can afford continued stimulus.
Should Ms Yellen take on the role, she will become the first woman in history at the head of the United States Federal Reserve. The economist has already defended the Federal Reserve at a number of Senate hearings and political committees over its role in shaping United States economic policy and maintaining interest rates.
