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Ben Bernanke’s fish tank

October 10, 2022 Stories
I was a graduate student at Princeton University when Ben Bernanke was the chair of the economics department. I happened to have been in his office the day he was packing and preparing for his move to Washington DC after he had accepted an appointment to become a governor at the Federal Reserve in 2002. Bernanke had a large (200 litre) fish tank in his office. As I spoke to him that day, he mentioned not knowing what to do with his aquarium. I told him that if he did not care to keep it, that I would be happy to take it over. He agreed to my suggestion, and I went about using a dolly to transport it back to my residence on campus. I used the aquarium to raise food fish. I bought live fish from the local Asian supermarket and kept them in the tank until it was time for them to be eaten. I prepared the fish when friends were visiting and usually after we had a few beers. It was always a hilarious experience as I did not have a net to scoop out the fish. What ensued was a long struggle getting the slippery…

Paul Krugman

October 13, 2008 Stories
Paul Krugman was my PhD advisor when I was a graduate student at Princeton. I first got to know him (in person) when he taught me the PhD course on international trade. I had many lively conversations with him in class, which inspired me to seek him out as my thesis supervisor. He accepted my request. However, given his status as a columnist for the New York Times and public intellectual, he was scarce on time. People often ask me what it was like having him as an advisor. Although he has a reputation in the profession as someone that can be abrasive and confrontational (especially with people with whom he disagrees), he was always nice to me. It was a routine when we met at his office for him to rifle through the many books sent to him for his critique and comments, and he would pass many of them on to me -- including copies of his own books. As a mind, he was amazingly brilliant and able to offer insights and solutions to problems in a matter of seconds, when I had struggled for days or weeks on them. Regardless of anyone’s opinions about his politics, the…

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