Paul Volcker

disinflationary doctrine, central-bank independence (legacy)

Paul Volcker served as Chairman of the US Federal Reserve (1979–87) and later as chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board under President Obama. He is best known for the 'Volcker shock' — a deliberate, painful rise in interest rates that crushed double-digit inflation at the cost of deep recession, cementing the doctrine that central-bank credibility requires tolerating short-term pain. He also lent his name to the Volcker Rule, restricting proprietary trading by deposit-taking banks.