John Makin | AEI economist, 71

John H. Makin, 71, an economist and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, who spent more than a decade as an adviser to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office and Treasury Department, died of cancer Monday in New York City, said spokeswoman Veronique Rodman, of the Washington-based research organization.

Mr. Makin was a prolific author and wrote the AEI's monthly Economic Outlook. In his most recent AEI commentary, titled "Pity the Fed," Mr. Makin said the central bank had painted itself into a corner, moving toward tightening monetary policy while many other countries were easing.

Since joining AEI in 1984, Makin was on the Panel of Economic Advisers in the Congressional Budget Office from 1984 to 1994. He was also at the U.S. Treasury Department, in the office of tax analysis from 1986 to 1988, and was a consultant at the International Monetary Fund from 1981 to 1983. - Bloomberg