Biography
Susan M. Collins is president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, one of 12 regional reserve banks in the Federal Reserve System, the U.S. central bank. In this role, Collins participates on the Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policymaking body of the United States. Since taking office in July 2022, Collins oversees all of the bank’s activities, including economic research and analysis; banking supervision and financial stability efforts; community economic development activities; and a wide range of payments, technology, and finance initiatives.
Collins is a widely published international macroeconomist, with a lifelong interest in policy and its impact on living standards. Her research includes work on the determinants of economic growth, exchange rate regimes and economic performance, implications of global integration for U.S. labor markets, persistent macroeconomic imbalances, and countries' economic transformations.
Prior to leading the Boston Fed, Collins was provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan. In that role, she was the chief academic and budget officer, responsible for overseeing all academic programming and budget planning. She was also the Edward M. Gramlich Collegiate Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics. Collins came to Michigan in 2007, serving for a decade as the Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of the university's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
Collins began her career on the economics department faculty at Harvard University and then spent many years dividing her time as a Professor at Georgetown University and a Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution.
Collins contributed previously within the Federal Reserve System, serving for nine years on the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (three as a director for the Detroit branch), starting in 2013. Among other affiliations, she also served as a Board member for the Peterson Institute of International Economics, and the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Collins earned a Ph.D. in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in economics at Harvard University, summa cum laude.
Susan M. Collins is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Jamaican descent, born in Scotland and raised in New York City. She is married to Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr., MD, MPH; and they have two adult children.
Work Experience
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
President & CEO, July 2022-present
University of Michigan
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, 2020-2022
Edward M. Gramlich Collegiate Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics, 2017-2022, (on unpaid leave, 2022-present)
Joan and Sanford Weill Dean; Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Professor of Public Policy and Economics, 2007-2017
International Monetary Fund Research Department
Visiting Scholar, Washington, DC, 2001
Georgetown University
Professor of Economics, Washington, DC, 1998-2007
Brookings Institution
Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Washington, DC, 1992-2007
Georgetown University
Associate Professor of Economics, Washington, DC, 1992-1998
President's Council of Economic Advisers
Senior Staff Economist, Washington, DC, 1989-1990
Harvard University
Associate Professor of Economics, Cambridge, MA, 1988-1992
Assistant Professor of Economics, Cambridge, MA, 1984-1988
A Conversation with Susan M. Collins and the Boston Foundation’s Lee Pelton
October 25, 2024 |Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
Mass Black Expo hosted by the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts
Observations on the Economy, and the Vibrancy of Smaller Cities
October 9, 2024 |Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester Regional Research Bureau’s 39th Annual Meeting
Remarks at the 23rd Annual Regional and Community Banker’s Conference
October 8, 2024 |Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s 22nd Annual Regional & Community Bankers Conference
Welcoming Remarks at the forum on “Meeting the Moment: Community Development and Climate Resilience in New England’s Working Places”
September 30, 2024 |Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
A Partnership for Progress
June 18, 2024 |Lawrence, Massachusetts
Remarks to members of the Merrimack Valley community at the Lawrence Partnership’s 2024 Annual Meeting & 10th Year Anniversary celebration.
Full Employment: A Broad-Based, Inclusive Goal
November 17, 2023 |Boston, MA
67th Economic Conference
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Publications
Published Papers
"India's Growth Slowdown: End of an Era?" (with Barry Bosworth), India Review vol. 14, issue 1, pages 8-25 (2015).
"Rebalancing the U.S. Economy in a Post-Crisis World." (with Barry Bosworth) in Bosworth, Barry and Masahiro Kawai (eds.) Transpacific Rebalancing: Implications for Trade and Economic Growth, ADBI and Brookings Institution Press (2015).
"Economic Growth and Performance on the Pacific Rim," (with Barry Bosworth) in Kaur, Inderjit N. and Nirvikar Singh (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of the Pacific Rim, Oxford University Press (2014).
"Trading with Asia's Giants" (with Barry Bosworth and Aaron Flaaen) in Barry Eichengreen, Poonam Gupta and Rajiv Kumar (eds.) Emerging Giants: China and India in the World Economy, Oxford University Press (2010).
"The U.S. External Deficit: A Soft Landing Doomed, or Delayed?" (with Barry Bosworth) Post-Crisis Prospects and Challenges for the United States, China and Japan, Tokyo Club Foundation for Global Studies, issue # 5 (2010).
"Determinants of U.S. Exports to China" (with Barry Bosworth) Asian Economic Policy Review, vol. 7, issue 3, pages 1-26 (2008).
"United States-China Trade: Where are the Exports?" (with Barry Bosworth) Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies vol 6, no.1, February, pages 1-21 (2008).
"Accounting for Growth: Comparing China and India," (with Barry Bosworth) Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 22, no. 1 (2008).
"Sources of Growth in the Indian Economy," (with Barry Bosworth and Arvind Virmani) in Suman Bery, Barry Bosworth and Arvind Panagyria (eds.) India Policy Forum volume 3, NCAER & The Brookings Institution, (2007).
"Economic Growth in Puerto Rico," and "The Policy Options," (with Barry Bosworth) in The Puerto Rican Economy: Restoring Growth, Washington D.C.: Center for the New Economy and The Brookings Institution (2006).
"International Financial Integration and Growth in Developing Countries: Issues and Implications for Africa," Journal of African Economies, vol. 13, issue 02, pages ii55-ii94 (2004).
"The Empirics of Growth: An Update," (with Barry Bosworth) in Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, (2003:2).
"Minority Groups in the Economics Profession," Journal of Economic Perspectives, (Vol. 14, No. 2, Spring 2000).
"Capital Flows to Developing Economies: Implications for Saving and Investment," (with Barry Bosworth) in Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, (1999:1).
"Real Exchange Rate Misalignments and Growth," (with Ofair Razin) in Assaf Razin and Efraim Sadka (eds.) International Economic Integration: Public Economics Perspectives, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1999).
"Economic Integration and the American Worker: An Overview," in Susan M. Collins (ed.) Imports, Exports and the American Worker, Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (1998).
"Domestic Adjustments to Globalization: the United States," in Hadi Soesastro and Charles Morrison (eds.) Domestic Adjustments to Globalization, Tokyo: Japan Center for International Exchange (1998).
"The Political Economy of Sustaining Monetary Integration: A perspective on the EMU," in Joaquim Muns (ed.) Spain and the Euro: Risks and Opportunities, Barcelona: La Caixa (1997).
"Lessons from East Asian Growth: Accumulation versus Assimilation," (with Barry Bosworth) in Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, (1996:2).
"On Becoming More Flexible: Exchange Rate Regimes in Latin America and the Caribbean," Journal of Development Economics, (Vol. 51, No. 1, October 1996).
"Accounting for Differences in Economic Growth," (with Barry Bosworth and Yu-chin Chen) in Akira Kohsaka and Koichi Ohno (eds.) Structural Adjustment and Economic Reform, Tokyo, Japan: Institute of Developing Economies (1996).
"Economic Integration: Conflict versus Cohesion," American Economic Review, (Vol. 85, No. 2, May 1995).
"Experiences with Current Account Deficits Among Asian Economies: Lessons for Australia?" in Philip Lowe and Jacqueline Dwyer (eds.) International Integration of the Australian Economy, Sydney: Reserve Bank of Australia (1994).
"Saving, Investment and External Balance in South Korea," in Stephan Haggard, et. al. (eds.) Macroeconomic Policy and Adjustment in Korea 1970-1990, Cambridge: Harvard University Press (1994).
"Exchange Rate Mechanism of the European Monetary System," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Money and Finance, London: Macmillan Press (1993).
"Capital Flows to Developing Countries: Implications from the Economies in Transition?" in Proceedings of the 1992 World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics, World Bank Economic Review, (1992).
"Attitudes Towards Inflation and the Viability of Fixed Exchange Rates: Evidence from the EMS," (with Francesco Giavazzi) in Barry Eichengreen and Michael Bordo (eds.) A Retrospective on the Bretton Woods System: Lessons for International Monetary Reform, Chicago: University of Chicago Press and NBER (1992).
"Policy Watch: U.S. Economic Policy toward Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union," Journal of Economic Perspectives, (Vol. 5, No. 4, Fall 1991).
"Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in the World Economy," (with Dani Rodrik), Policy Analyses in International Economics, No. 32, Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics (1991).
"Savings Behavior in Ten Developing Countries," in B. Douglas Bernheim and John Shoven (eds.) National Saving and Economic Performance, Chicago: University of Chicago Press and NBER (1991).
"Immigrants, Labor Market Pressures and the Composition of Aggregate Demand," in John Abowd and Richard Freeman (eds.) Immigration, Trade and Labor Markets, Chicago: University of Chicago Press and NBER (1991).
"Lessons From Korean Economic Growth," American Economic Review, (Vol. 80, No. 2, May 1990).
"Economic Transition in Eastern Europe: Response in the West," Business in the Contemporary World, (Vol. II, issue 4, Summer 1990).
"External Debt and Macroeconomic Performance in Korea," (with Won-Am Park) in Jeffrey D. Sachs and Susan M. Collins (eds.) Developing Country Debt and Economic Performance: The Country Studies, Volume III, Chicago: University of Chicago Press and NBER (1990).
"Debt, Policy and Performance: An Introduction," in Jeffrey D. Sachs and Susan M. Collins (eds.) Developing Country Debt and Economic Performance: The Country Studies, Volume III, Chicago: University of Chicago Press and NBER (1990).
"PPP and the Peso Problem: Exchange Rates in the EMS," in Emil-Maria Claasen (ed.) International and European Monetary Systems, New York: Praeger (1990).
"Inflation and the European Monetary System," in Francesco Giavazzi et. al. (eds.) The European Monetary System, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1988).
"Savings and Growth: Experiences of Korea and Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, (Vol.2, 1988).
"External Debt and Macroeconomic Performance in Korea: A Summary," (with Won-Am Park) in Jeffrey D. Sachs (ed.) Developing Country Debt and the World Economy, Chicago: University of Chicago Press and NBER (1988).
"Multiple Exchange Rates, Capital Controls and Commercial Policy," in Rudiger Dornbusch and F. Leslie Helmers (eds.) The Open Economy: Tools for Policy Makers in Developing Countries, Vol. 1, New York: Oxford University Press and the World Bank (1988).
"Short Term Stabilization and Structural Adjustment: The Jamaican Economy in the Eighties," (with Luca Barbone) in El FMI, el Banco Mundial y la Crisis Latinamericana, SELA, Siglo veintiuno editores (1986).
"Technical Progress in a Three Country Ricardian Model with a Continuum of Goods," Journal of International Economics, (August 1985).
Edited and Co-Edited Volumes
Aging and the Macroeconomy: Long-Term Implications of an Older Population (National Research Council Panel), National Academies Press (2012)
The Brookings Trade Forum 2007: Foreign Direct Investment, (edited by Susan M. Collins), Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (2008).
The Brookings Trade Forum 2006: Global labor Markets?, (edited by Susan M. Collins and Carol Graham), Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (2007).
The Puerto Rican Economy: Restoring Growth, (edited by Susan M. Collins, Barry P. Bosworth and Miguel A. Soto-Class) Washington, DC: Center for the New Economy and The Brookings Institution (2006).
Restoring Growth in Puerto Rico: Overview and Policy Options (edited by Susan M. Collins, Barry P. Bosworth and Miguel Soto-Class) Washington, DC: Center for the New Economy and The Brookings Institution (2006).
The Brookings Trade Forum 2005: Offshoring White-Collar Work, (edited by Susan M. Collins and Lael Brainard), Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (2006).
The Brookings Trade Forum 2004: Globalization, Inequality and Poverty, (edited by Susan M. Collins and Carol Graham), Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (2004).
The Brookings Trade Forum 2003, (edited by Susan M. Collins and Dani Rodrik), Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (2004).
The Brookings Trade Forum 2002: Currency Crises and the International Economy, (edited by Susan M. Collins and Dani Rodrik), Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (2003).
The Brookings Trade Forum 2001: Globalization: Issues and Implications, (edited by Susan M. Collins and Dani Rodrik), Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (2002).
The Brookings Trade Forum 2000: Policy Challenges for the New Millennium, (edited by Susan M. Collins and Dani Rodrik), Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (2001).
The Brookings Trade Forum 1999: Governing in a Global Economy, (edited by Susan M. Collins and Robert Z. Lawrence), Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (2000).
Imports, Exports and the American Worker, (edited by Susan M. Collins), Washington DC: The Brookings Institution (1998).
Coming Together? Mexico - United States Relations, (co-editors: Barry P. Bosworth and Nora Lustig), Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (1997).
The New GATT: Implications for the United States, (co-editor: Barry P. Bosworth), Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (1994).
Macroeconomic Policy and Adjustment in Korea 1970-1990, (co-editors: Stephan Haggard, Richard D. Cooper, Choongsoo Kim and Sung-Tae Ro), Cambridge: Harvard University Press (1994).
Developing Country Debt and Economic Performance: The Country Studies, Volume III, (co-editor: Jeffrey D. Sachs), Chicago: University of Chicago Press and NBER (1990).
Comments and Reviews
Comment on: 'The European Trust Crisis and the Rise of Populism," (by Yann Algan, Sergei Guriev, Elias Papaioannou and Evgenia Passari; comment joint with Francesco Giavazzi) in Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, (2017:2).
Comment on: 'Aligning International Capital Flows with Growth,' (by Eswar Prasad) in Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Achieving Maximum Long-Run Growth, (2011).
Comment on: 'Measuring Tradeable Services and the Task Content of Offshorable Services Jobs,' (by Brad Jensen and Lori Kletzer) in Katherine Abraham, Michael Harper and James Spletzer (eds.) Labor in the New Economy (2010).
Comment on: 'Foreign Capital and Economic Growth,' (by Eswar Prasad, Raghuram Rajan and Arvin Subramanian) in Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, The New Economic Geography: Effects and Policy Implications, (2007).
Comment on: 'Financial Globalization, Growth and Volatility in Developing Countries' (by Eswar Prasad, Kenneth Rogoff, Shang-Jin Wei and M. Ayhan Kose), in Ann Harrison (ed.) Globalization and Poverty edited by Ann Harrison, Chicago: NBER & University of Chicago Press (2007).
Comment on: 'Globalization's Impact on Compliance with Labor Standards' (by Ann Harrison and Jason Scorse) in Susan M. Collins and Dani Rodrik (eds.) The Brookings Trade Forum 2003, Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (2004).
Comment on: 'Exchange Rate Regimes and Monetary Cooperation: Lessons from East Asia for Latin America' (by Takatoshi Ito) in "Promises and Pitfalls of Globalization: Latin America and Asia in Comparative Perspective," conference organized by LAEBA (Inter-American Development Bank and Asian Development Bank Partnership), January 6, 2003.
Comment on: 'Labor Standards Revisited' (by Ann Harrison) in "The FDI Race: Who gets the Prize? Is it Worth the Effort?" conference organized by the IADB & The World Bank, October 3-4, 2002.
Comment on 3 papers for session entitled "Global Banking" in "Financial Globalization: A Blessing or a Curse?" a conference organized by The World Bank & George Washington University, May 30-31, 2002.
Comment on: 'Globalization, Trade and Development: Some Lessons from History' (by Alan Taylor) presented at "Regional Integration and Trade in the Development Agenda," a conference organized by The Brookings Institution & IADB, May 31-June 1, 2001.
Comment on: 'What Happened to Asian Exports During the Crisis' (by Rupa Duttagupta and Antonio Spilimbergo) presented at the First Annual IMF Research Conference, November 9-10, 2000. Published in IMF Staff Papers, (Vol. 47, Special Issue, 2001).
Comment on: 'Income Distribution: Trends in OECD Economies' (by Anthony Atkinson) in Vito Tanzi (ed.) Economic Policy and Equity, Washington, DC: The International Monetary Fund (1998).
Comment on: 'Implications of the Opening Up of Eastern Europe for Germany, Switzerland and Portugal' (by Hari Vittas and Paolo Mauro) in Stanley Black (ed.) Europe's Economy Looks East, Washington, DC: The American Institute for Contemporary Studies (1997).
"GATT: Where are the Trumpets?" (with Barry P. Bosworth) Brookings Review, Fall 1994.
Comment on: 'The East Asian Miracle: Four Lessons for Development Policy' (by John Page) in Stanley Fischer (ed.) NBER Macroeconomics Annual, 1994, Cambridge: M.I.T. Press (1994).
Comment on: 'Foreign Trade in Eastern Europe's Transition: Early Results' (by Dani Rodrik) in Olivier Blanchard, Kenneth Froot and Jeffrey Sachs (eds.) The Transition in Eastern Europe -- Volume 2: Restructuring, Chicago: NBER and University of Chicago Press (1994).
Comment on: 'Chile: Exchange Rate Policy and Trade Strategy' (by Rudiger Dornbusch and Sebastian Edwards) in Barry P. Bosworth, Rudiger Dornbusch and Raul Laban (eds.) The Chilean Economy: Policy Lessons and Challenges, Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (1994).
Comment on: 'The Role of Finance in Economic Development in South Korea and Taiwan' (by Yung Chul Park) in Alberto Giovannini (ed.) Finance and Development: Issues and Experience, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1993).
Comment on: 'Monetary Policy in Denmark in the Last Ten Years' (by Peter Erling Nielson) in Johnny Akerholm and Alberto Giovannini (eds.) Exchange Rate Policies in the Nordic Countries, London: Centre for Economic Policy Research (1994).
Comment on: 'IFI Seniority and Burden Sharing in the Former Soviet Bloc' (by Jeremy Bulow and Kenneth Rogoff) Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, (1992:1).
Comment on: 'NAFTA and the Rest of the World' (by Carlos Primo Braga) in Barry Bosworth, Robert Lawrence and Nora Lustig (eds.) North American Free Trade: Assessing the Impact, Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution (1992).
Comment on: 'Macroeconomic Policy and Growth: Some Lessons of Experience' (by Max Corden) in proceedings of the 1990 World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics, World Bank Economic Review, Suppl., (1991).
Comment on: 'Jamaica: Can the Recovery be Sustained?' (by Michael Gavin) in F. Desmond McCarthy (ed.) Problems of Developing Countries in the 1990s, Volume II, The World Bank Discussion Papers #98, (1990).
Comment on: 'The Caribbean' (by DeLisle Worrell) and 'Central America' (by Sylvia Saborio) in John Williamson (ed.) Latin American Adjustment: How Much has Happened?, Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics (1990).
Comment on: 'The LDC Debt Crisis and the Dollar Cycle' (by Peter Petri) in Stefan Gerlach and Peter Petri (eds.) The Economics of the Dollar Cycle, Cambridge: MIT Press (1990).
Comment on: 'Perspectives on the Japanese Current Account Surplus' (by Kazuo Ueda) in Stanley Fischer (ed.) NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1988, Cambridge: MIT Press (1988).
Comment on: 'Korea's Growth Policy' (by Rudiger Dornbusch and Yung Chul Park) in Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, (1987:2).
"Review of 'A New SDR Allocation' (by John Williamson) and 'An International Standard for Monetary Stabilization' (by Ronald McKinnon)," Journal of Economic Literature, June 1985.
Role of the President
The president and chief executive officer guides the focus of the Bank’s economic research and gathers economic intelligence through interactions with the Bank’s board of directors, advisory councils, and other business and community contacts. The president represents the First District at the Federal Open Market Committee and provides key insights to those policy discussions. Additionally, the president and chief executive officer ensures the Bank maintains an effective system of bank supervision and contributes to collective Federal Reserve System actions and directions.
The process by which Federal Reserve Bank presidents are selected, appointed, and reappointed is set forth in the Federal Reserve Act. The president is appointed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s board of directors with the approval of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, for a term of five years.