Alan Greenspan, U.S. economist who was chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006. He began his chairmanship under Ronald Reagan, replacing Paul Volcker, and remained in office under George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. In 2006 he was replaced as Federal Reserve Chairman by Ben Bernarke.
Before and during his chairmanship he advocated a lack of regulation and the belief that the free market generated economic improvement. However, he later stated that he had been wrong to rely so heavily on free market ideology.
Related terms
Federal Reserve