Peter S. Heller, Ph.D. Economist, Fiscal Expert,
Academic, and Public Speaker
Peter S. Heller is a recognized expert on fiscal policy and public finance. The former Deputy Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund, he has advised both industrial and developing countries on broad macroeconomic policy strategies for over 30 years. He is a Senior Adjunct Professor of International Economics at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University, teaching courses on public finance, long-term fiscal challenges, international monetary theory and international financial institutions. He also is a visiting professor at the Graduate School of Governance at the University of Maastricht.
Peter’s pioneering book, Who Will Pay? Coping with Aging Societies, Climate Change and Other Long-Term Fiscal Challenges (2003), put the integration of the multiple long-term policy challenges that will arise in the 21st century onto the agenda of government fiscal policy makers. He has participated in the World Economic Forum at Davos as well as the Global Economic Symposium at Kiel.Peter has published widely on issues of aging population, health care, and social security. In the development sphere, he has written articles on fiscal policy, taxation, and government expenditures. He has highlighted the challenges that a scaling-up of aid flows will pose for low-income countries. He is presently also working on the issue of the fiscal implications of adaptation to climate change in Europe.
Peter is also recognized as an expert on the interface between health policy and macroeconomics, and has explored the relevance of “fiscal space” to health and the Millennium Development Goals. He was an active participant in WHO’s Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, the UN Millennium Project, and UNAIDS’ Steering Committee on Universal Access.
Peter received a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University in 1971 and a B.A. from Trinity College, Hartford, CT.