Laffer, whose daughter Allison is a member of the BC Class of 2006, was chief economist for the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan. He is chiefly known as the author of the "Laffer Curve," which he used as the basis for his argument that high tax rates serve to decrease tax revenue for the government. Time magazine recently cited the Laffer Curve as one of the "great ideas" of the 20th century.
The speech by Laffer, who is chairman of a San Diego-based international economic research and consulting firm, will be available on streaming video through the Boston College "Front Row" web site.