New York, April 9, 2013 – Morrison & Foerster LLP announced Raghuram G. Rajan, the Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, as this year’s recipient of the Burton Foundation’s annual Regulatory Innovation Award. Morrison & Foerster established this award in 2008 through the Burton Foundation to honor an academic or non-elected public official whose innovative ideas have made a significant contribution to the discourse on regulatory reform in the arena of corporate governance, securities, capital markets or financial institutions. Rajan was selected by an independent panel of academics, practitioners and financial journalists.
In addition to his position at the Booth School of Business, Rajan serves as the Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance to the Government of India. Rajan is particularly noted for being one of the few individuals who correctly predicted the 2008 financial crisis. Rajan authored the book Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy, whichdiscusses the causes and outcome of the financial crisis. Rajan’s recent work focuses on the ongoing economic crises in the United States and in Europe and, specifically, on the need to address systemic flaws in the global financial system in order to prevent future crises. In his many writings, Rajan also has focused on the path forward, including the measures that should be considered in order to promote economic growth and “make possible entrepreneurship and innovation.” Rajan previously served as the youngest-ever Economic Counselor and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund.
Dr. Rajan will be honored on June 3, 2012 at the Burton Awards ceremony in the U.S. Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor also will be honored that evening for her recent book. To learn more about the selection committee and the Regulatory Innovation Award, click here.