Ernst Baltensperger holds a PhD in Economics from the Johns Hopkins University and an honorary doctorate from the University of Basel. He has been Professor of Economics at the University of Berne since 1984. Before taking up this position, he was Professor of Economics at the Ohio State University and the Universities of Heidelberg and St. Gallen. He has published widely in the fields of banking, finance and monetary policy, and he has been a regular consultant to the Swiss National Bank.