Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Today's guest essay—just in time for some holiday reading—comes to us from Jon Hilsenrath, the author of a new book: "Yellen: The Trailblazing Economist Who Navigated an Era of Upheaval." He traces the treasury secretary and former Federal Reserve chairwoman's path to becoming the most powerful woman in U.S. economic policymaking history. By her side for that journey was her longtime research partner and husband, Nobel Prize-winning economist George Akerlof. This exclusive excerpt recounts how the pair met.
- Marriage of the minds. When Janet Yellen and George Akerlof arrived at the Fed in the fall of 1977, the place was a mess. Its leader, Arthur Burns, was on his way out the door. Inflation was running rampant.
