Event Summary
Stuart Eizenstat discussed the economic policy dimensions of his widely acclaimed new book, President Carter: The White House Years, at the Peterson Institute for International Economics on December 12, 2018. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of the Carter presidency, as Eizenstat, Carter’s chief domestic policy advisor, was by his side during the nomination and presidential campaigns and throughout his four years in office. That period, and the book, cover such major economic events as the second energy crisis, double-digit inflation, the dollar collapse of 1978–79, and the landmark Tokyo Round of trade negotiations in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Presidential historian Michael Beschloss has called the book “something we rarely see—an illuminating, vital and elegant combination of a White House insider’s memoir and well-researched history.”
C. Fred Bergsten, the Institute’s Senior Fellow and Director Emeritus as well as the former undersecretary for monetary affairs at the US Treasury under Carter, moderated the discussion session.
Stuart Eizenstat is senior counsel at Covington and heads its international practice. In addition to his governmental service with Carter, he was US ambassador to the European Union; undersecretary of commerce for international trade; undersecretary of state for economic, business and agricultural affairs; and deputy secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton administration. His earlier books include Imperfect Justice: Looted Assets, Slave Labor, and the Unfinished Business of World War II and Andrew Young: The Path to History.