In the Service of the State: Unemployment Insurance, the Federal Reserve, and the Employment Act

From some of his earliest writings, Hansen had envisaged a state role in channelling savings to support society and improve living standards, including social security, public health, and promoting home ownership. Initially, Hansen’s main call was for a national housing and home loan scheme, modelled on the Federal Farm Loan Act. Despite an early scepticism about the practicalities of stabilisation, his work at Minnesota helped fulfil this vision, first with unemployment insurance and later a broader macroeconomic policy to maintain full employment. Hansen’s first government roles were prompted by his Minnesota work and involvement in other university-led commissions and inquiries. This drew Hansen to the attention of the State Department, where he was Chief Economic Analyst at the Tariff Bargaining Section, an advisor to Secretary Cordell Hull (1934–5). In 1934, because of his earlier work with Murray, and a connection with Witte, Secretary of State Cordell Hull “loaned” Hansen to the Social Security committee. The growing group around Lauchlin Currie in government welcomed Hansen as an important recruit especially for the 1939 Temporary National Economic Committee Hearings. Hansen acted as a consultant to the National Resources Planning Board alongside part-time work for the Federal Reserve Board, where tasks, including aspects of defence programme funding and the nature of the post-war US economy and policy, overlapped.