Nobel Prize-Winner Peter Diamond Talks Jobs

45:56

June 13, 2011

The country's finances are in disarray and the unemployment rate is north of 9 percent. MIT economics professor Peter Diamond has some ideas on what to do about it.

An unidentified job seeker looks for an auto mechanic job opportunity at the Verdugo Job Center in Glendale, Calif. The unemployment rate is now above 9 percent. (AP)

Peter Diamond won the 2010 Nobel Prize for economics. Peter Diamond couldn’t get Republican sign-off to serve on the Federal Reserve Bank’s board of governors.

Last week, the Nobel Prize-winner withdrew his name from consideration for the Fed board. But not before delivering a blast at the senators who had blocked the way.

We’ve got sky-high unemployment. Employment and labor economics are Diamond’s Nobel prize-winning specialty.

But ideology, he says, got in the way. Diamond’s with us today.

This hour On Point: Nobel Prize winner Peter Diamond, on jobs in America.
- Tom Ashbrook
Guests:

Peter Diamond, Nobel Prize winning economist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Michael Hirsh, is chief correspondent for National Journal. His most recent cover story can be found here. He also has a book detailing Washington's relationship with Wall Street. He previously served as the senior editor and national economics correspondent for Newsweek, based in its Washington bureau.

More:

Nobel Prize winning economist Peter Diamond talks in the studio with Tom Ashbrook. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Here's the Nobel Prize committee's official description of Peter Diamond's work.
Diamond penned this New York Times op-ed describing his experiences during a failed nomination to the Federal Reserve board.
For all things jobs related, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is one-stop shopping. Check out their site for detailed information about the American economy and the jobs situation.

This program aired on June 13, 2011.