Herbert Stein Papers, White House Central Files, 1969-1974
1969-1974
Title: Herbert Stein Papers, White House Central Files, 1969-1974
Dates: 1969-1974
Collection Number: 6002246
Creator/Collector:
Stein, Herbert, 1916-1999.
Council of Economic Advisers
Extent: 92 linear feet, 4 linear inches; 211 boxes
Repository:
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
Abstract: Herbert Stein’s early assignment as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers or CEA was to head a post-Vietnam study commission
to examine the effects of the Vietnam War on the economy and the problem of re-conversion. As an important economic spokesman
for the Nixon Administration, Stein’s responsibilities and areas of interest grew to include anti-inflation measures, monetary
and fiscal techniques, manpower programs, direct intervention in collective bargaining, construction workers contracts, and
productivity.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open for research. Some materials may be unavailable based upon categories of materials exempt from public release
established in the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974.
Most government records are in the public domain; however, this series includes commercial materials, such as newspaper clippings,
that may be subject to copyright restrictions. Researchers should contact the copyright holder for information.
Herbert Stein Papers, White House Central Files, 1969-1974 . Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
These materials are in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration under the provisions of Title I of
the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-526, 88 Stat. 1695) and implementing regulations.
Scope and Content of Collection
A graduate of Williams College (B.A. 1935), with a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago (1958), Herbert Stein
had already become a leading advocate of monetarism in the private sector (CED/Brookings), before being appointed by President
Nixon to the Council of Economic Advisers in 1969. As early as 1944, Dr. Stein gained attention in the economics profession
by winning the Pabst Brewing Co. prize for the best essay on how the U.S. could achieve full employment after World War II.
The next year, 1945, Stein joined the business-supported Committee for Economic Development, becoming director of research,
a post he held from 1956 to 1966. From 1966 to 1968, Stein was a fellow of the Brookings Institution.
Noted for his sharp tongue and quick wit, Stein's early assignment as a member of the CEA was to head a post-Vietnam study
commission to examine the effects of the Vietnam War on the economy, and the problems of reconversion. He soon became an important
economic spokesman for the administration. Other Stein responsibilities and areas of interest were anti-inflation measures,
monetary and fiscal techniques, manpower programs, direct intervention in collective bargaining, construction workers contracts,
and productivity. Although not a believer of mandatory government-imposed controls, Stein maintained that one should not allow
ideological purity to stand in the way of administration objectives. Price and wage controls were viewed as practical necessities
to cool the economy and check inflation. In November, 1971, Stein succeeded Paul McCracken as chairman of the CEA. He resigned
in August, 1974, to return to his chair of economics at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
The files are arranged in fifteen different series: Administrative File; Correspondence Files; Memoranda Files; Meeting Files;
Briefing Materials, Policy and Programs Papers, and Reports; Economic Report; Post-Vietnam File; Federal Energy Office; Advisory
Committee on the Economic Role of Women; Economic Stabilization Program; Subject Files; Speeches and Statements; Invitations;
Appointments and News Summary; and Publications and Printed Materials. The Administrative File is divided into three subseries:
Policy and Programs, arranged chronologically by date; Miscellany, arranged alphabetically by folder title; and Travel, arranged
chronologically by date. The Correspondence Files are divided into four subseries: Alpha (General) File, arranged chronologically
by date; Chronological File, arranged by date; Economics File, arranged alphabetically by name; and Agencies File, arranged
alphabetically by name. The Memoranda Files are divided into four subseries: Memos for the President, arranged alphabetically
by title and then by name of staff member; CEA Troika Memos, arranged chronologically by date; and CEA Staff Memos, arranged
alphabetically by name. The Meeting Files are divided into three subseries: Meetings (General), arranged chronologically by
date; Treasury Tax Group and CIEP, arranged chronologically by date; and International Economic Relations, arranged alphabetically
by subject.
Briefing Materials, Policy and Programs Papers, and Reports, the fifth Stein series, is divided into three subseries: Agencies
File, arranged alphabetically by name; Foreign Economic Outlook, arranged chronologically by date; and Programs, Papers, and
Reports, arranged chronologically by date. The Economic Report is arranged alphabetically by folder title, and then by chapter,
subtitle, and version. The Post-Vietnam File is arranged alphabetically by title of report. The Federal Energy Office file
is arranged alphabetically by subject. The Advisory Committee on the Economic Role of Women file is arranged alphabetically
by folder title. The Economic Stabilization series is divided into three subseries: Policy and Programs File, arranged alphabetically
by title and then by date; CLC Meetings, arranged chronologically by date; and Reports, arranged by number and by date. The
Subject Files are arranged alphabetically by subject. Speeches and Statements are divided into two subseries: Congressional
File; and Meetings and Conference File. These two subseries are both arranged chronologically by date. Invitations are arranged
alphabetically by subject and then by date. The Appointments and News Summary File is arranged by subject. Publications and
Printed Materials are arranged alphabetically by title.
Major correspondents and personalities that figure prominently in these files include: George P. Shultz; Peter M. Flanigan;
John R. Dunlop; Roy L. Ash; John D. Ehrlichman; Arthur F. Burns; John C. Whitaker; William E. Timmons; Paul A. Volcker; Donald
Rumsfeld; James W. McLane; Herbert G. Klein; C. Jackson Grayson, Jr.; Geoffrey H. Moore; Caspar W. Weinberger; and Fred B.
Dent.