William L. Wascher

William Louis Wascher is an American economist and the deputy director of the Division of Research and Statistics in the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

Education Wascher graduated with a B.A. in economics and mathematics from the University of Delaware in 1978. He went on to complete his M.A. in 1980 and Ph.D. in 1983 in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Professional career Wascher has been with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors since 1983. In addition, he was a visiting economist with the Bank for International Settlements from 1998 to 1999 and served as a senior staff economist on the Council of Economic Advisers during the administration of George H. W. Bush.

Research

Wascher is known for his research on the economic effects of the minimum wage and aggregate supply, and is the co-author (with David Neumark) of the 2008 book Minimum Wages (MIT Press). Wascher and Neumark have also collaborated on multiple peer-reviewed studies on the employment effects of the minimum wage.