Alfred E. Kahn

Alfred E. Kahn (1917-) is an American professor and expert in airline regulation. Commonly known as the "Father of Airline Deregulation," [cite web
last = Russell
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authorlink =
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title = Flying Amid the Merger Clouds
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publisher = Time
date = 1986-09-29
url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,962408-3,00.html
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accessdate = 2008-01-12 ] he chaired the Civil Aeronautics Board during the period when it ended its regulation of the airline industry, paving the way for low-cost airlines, from People Express to Southwest Airlines.

He is the Robert Julius Thorne Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at Cornell University.

Background

Kahn received his Bachelor's ("summa cum laude") and Master's degrees from New York University and a Doctorate in Economics from Yale University. Following service in the United States Army, he served as Chairman of the Department of Economics at Ripon College. His first book was "Great Britain and the World Economy" in 1946.

He moved to Cornell University in 1947, where he served as Chairman of the Department of Economics, as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University and as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He has also received numerous awards for his work in economics, regulation and deregulation. In 1974 he became chairman of the [http://www.dps.state.ny.us/ New York Public Service Commission] .

Airline Deregulation

From 1977 through 1978, Kahn served as Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which regulated commercial airline fares. He also served as an advisor to President Jimmy Carter on inflation and as Chairman on the Council on Wage and Price Stability served as "inflation czar" until 1980. [cite web
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title = 'Inflation Czar' will take apart his title
work = Cornell Cronicle
publisher = Cornell University
date = 1983-07-14
url = http://ecommons.library.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/5350/3/014_35.pdf
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While he was serving as Chair of the Civil Aeronautics Board, he oversaw the deregulation of commercial air fares. At the same time the CAB was disbanded, as deregulation of commercial air fares made the agency no longer necessary. This is one of the only examples of a regulatory agency deregulating itself out of existence.

Kahn was considered to be a liberal Democrat which made his strong advocacy of deregulation somewhat unique and it stemmed largely from his understanding as an economist of marginal-cost theory. In an interview with USA Today [cite web
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title = Wrath of Kahn kept airfares low
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publisher = USA Today
date = 2007-07-23
url = http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2007-07-23-alfred-kahn_N.htm
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accessdate = 2007-08-07 ] , he said that he wished that he could have deregulated the telecommuncations industry.

Published Works

He is the author of The Economics of Regulation: Principles and Institutions, among many other books and articles.

A seminar room in the Lincoln Hall Music Library of Cornell University is named in his honor.

References