Albert Rees
# Albert Rees

Albert E. Rees (August 21, 1921 – September 5, 1992) was an American economist and noted author. An influential labor economist, Rees taught at Princeton University from 1966 to 1979, while also being an advisor to President Gerald Ford. He was also a former Provost of Princeton and former president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He was also the first head of the Council on Wage and Price Stability, a short-lived federal agency.

## Discussion

Born in New York City, Rees earned his bachelor's degree from Oberlin College in 1943. He later received his master's degree and his doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago. After obtaining his Ph.D. in 1950, he went on to chair the economics department at Chicago from 1962 to 1966 before moving to Princeton as economics chair there. He later co-authored a landmark labor study with George P. Shultz. Another notable book, The Economics of Work and Pay, remained in print for two decades over at least six editions at HarperCollins. Notable doctoral students at Princeton included the future Nobel Laureate James Heckman. He won many awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1969 and election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1971. Rees died on September 5, 1992, at University Medical Center of Princeton.

Since 1997, Princeton University awards the "Albert Rees Prize" for an outstanding dissertation in labor economics. Oberlin College has also established multiple Albert Rees prizes, including a Fellowship and an Assistantship.

Duke University Libraries has a special collection with his papers. Additional special collections at George Mason University Libraries and the Ford Presidential Library house archives for the Council on Wage and Price Stability, of which he was the founding director.

## Council on Wage and Price Stability

The Council on Wage and Price Stability (COWPS or CWPS) Act was signed into law by President Ford in 1974, with Rees as the new agency's first head. It replaced the formal price controls from the Nixon administration authorized under its precursor, the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 and its related agency, the Pay Board and Price Commission. The council continued under President Carter (with Alfred E. Kahn replacing Rees as its head under the new administration). When Reagan took office in 1981, CWPS economists moved to the newly formed Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Some labor and economic regulator responsibilities merged back into their historic homes with the National Labor Relations Board and the Council of Economic Advisors.

## Selected publications

* Rees, Albert (1973-06-01). Economics of Work and Pay (1 ed.). New York: Joanna Cotler Books. ISBN 9780060453534.
* The Economics of Work and Pay (6 ed.). New York: Harpercollins College Div. 1996-06-01. ISBN 9780673994745.
* Rees, Albert; Shultz, George (1970). Workers and wages in an urban labor market. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226707059. OCLC 121075.
* Rees, Albert (1984). Striking a Balance: Making National Economic Policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226707075.
* Rees, Albert (1962). The Economics of Trade Unions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0720202632.

## Archives

* "Guide to the Albert Rees Papers, 1966-1992 and undated". David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
* "Council on Wage & Price Stability — A Project of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University". cowps.mercatus.org. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
* "Ron Nessen Papers at Ford Presidential Library" (PDF). Ford Presidential Library. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
