Furthermore, the increasing mathematisation of economics is summed up by a response former Fed vice chair Alan Blinder gave to the journalist Justin Fox. When asked whether an economics PhD was a prerequisite for the Fed’s top job, Blinder replied in the affirmative, adding, “otherwise, the Fed’s staff will run technical rings around you”.
Central bankers have not always received such homogenous educations, however. Between 1945 and 1989 economics PhDs made up only 11% of governor appointments, our review of the data shows. Indeed, for most of the post-war period, Bank of England governors came to the role following careers in banking or civil service, with no advanced education in economics.
Varied backgrounds were seen elsewhere. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi studied ancient Greek and resisted fascism before joining the Bank of Italy, where he presided over the transition to independence and the taming of inflation. The stewards of the Bundesbank for its first 20 years had backgrounds in business as well as law.
Even today, Zhou Xiaochuan, who since 2002 has led the People’s Bank of China, is an engineering PhD. In this light, Powell’s previous experience could be equally viewed as injecting a bit more educational diversity into one of the world's foremost central banks.