OREANDA-NEWS. In the United States, Paul Volker, the former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve System, died at the age of 93.

It was reported by The New York Times with reference to his daughter Janice Zima. According to her, Volcker died on Sunday in New York. The reasons for the death of the economist were not mentioned. Reuters news agency, citing messages of other media, reports that Volcker suffered from prostate cancer.

Paul Volcker headed the US Federal Reserve System from 1979 till 1987 during the presidency of Jimmy Carter, and then Ronald Reagan. The American media called him the “inflation tamer.” Inflation peak in the United States came in March 1980, when it reached 14.8 %. In 1979, the average inflation rate was 11.2%. In the course of Volcker’s policy as head of the agency, the rate of inflation fell to 3.66 % by 1987.

Volcker's decisions helped stabilize the economy, but led to a substantial increase in unemployment. The high interest rate established by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve led to a reduction in investment in the real sector of the United States.

In 2008, the US President Barack Obama decided to create the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board and invited Volcker to lead it. Then, to help the country overcome the global crisis, the economist developed so called “Volcker rule”: it limited the right of banks to buy and sell securities for money from their reserves, intended for payments on obligations. In February 2011, General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt succeeded Volcker as head of the Advisory Board.