Economist, educator, government official. Administrative Assistant to President Truman (1949-1953); Director, Bureau of the Budget (1961-1962); Administrator, Agency for International Development (1963-1966); vice president, executive vice president, Ford Foundation (1966-1981).
Papers (1947-1981) consist of correspondence, memorandums, reports, background material, speeches, and writings, including material on the Truman-MacArthur relationship.
Oral History Interviews (1964, 1965): Bell completed two interviews for the John F. Kennedy Library; JFK#1 interview: 7/11/1964; JFK#2 interview: 1/2/1965. In the first interview, Bell compares the cabinet officers and White House staff during the Truman and Kennedy administrations, discusses the functions of the Budget Bureau and its operations during the Kennedy administration, and briefly discusses the Agency for International Development (AID). In the second interview, he discusses AID during the Kennedy administration including the process of and difficulties with getting Congressional appropriations for foreign aid; and Vietnam and Laos, among other issues.