[Economic Report of the President (2009)]
[Administration of Barack H. Obama]
[Online through the Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Appendix A

REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT ON THE ACTIVITIES
OF THE
COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS DURING 2008


LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

Council of Economic Advisers
Washington, D.C., December 31, 2008

Mr. President:
The Council of Economic Advisers submits this report on its
activities during calendar year 2008 in accordance with the
requirements of the Congress, as set forth in section 10(d) of the
Employment Act of 1946 as amended by the Full Employment and
Balanced Growth Act of 1978.

Sincerely,

Edward P. Lazear, Chairman
Donald B. Marron, Member





Report to the President on the
Activities of the Council of Economic
Advisers During 2008

The Council of Economic Advisers was established by the Employment
Act of 1946 to provide the President with objective economic
analysis and advice on the development and implementation of a wide
range of domestic and international economic policy issues.

The Chairman of the Council

Edward P. Lazear continued to chair the Council during 2008. Dr.
Lazear is on a leave of absence from the Stanford Graduate School
of Business where he is the Jack Steele Parker Professor of Human
Resources Management and Economics. He also served as the Morris
Arnold Cox Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Dr. Lazear is responsible for communicating the Council's
views on economic matters directly to the President through
personal discussions and written reports. He represents the Council
at daily White House senior staff meetings, a variety of inter-
agency meetings, Cabinet meetings, and other formal and informal
meetings with the President. He also travels within the United
States and overseas to present the Administration's views on
the economy. Dr. Lazear is the Council's chief public
spokesperson. He directs the work of the Council and exercises
ultimate responsibility for the work of the professional staff.

The Members of the Council

Donald B. Marron was confirmed by the Senate as a Member of the
Council of Economic Advisers on June 27, 2008, was appointed by the
President on June 30, and was sworn in on July 17. While awaiting
confirmation, Dr. Marron had served as Senior Economic Adviser to
the Council. Dr. Marron previously served as Deputy Director of the
Congressional Budget Office, including more than a year as its
Acting Director. His earlier government service included serving as
Chief Economist at the Council and as Executive Director and Chief
Economist of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee. At the
Council Dr. Marron's responsibilities include work on
financial markets, housing, and a variety of macroeconomic and
microeconomic policy issues.

Macroeconomic Policies

As is its tradition, the Council devoted much time during 2008 to
assisting the President in formulating economic policy objectives
and designing programs to implement them. In this regard the
Chairman kept the President informed, on a continuing basis, of
important macroeconomic developments and other major policy issues
through regular macroeconomic briefings. The Council prepares for
the President, the Vice President, and the White House senior staff
regular memoranda that report key economic data and analyze current
economic events and financial market developments. Council staff
also regularly provides assistance with economic data and analysis
to other offices within the Executive Office of the President.
The Council, the Department of the Treasury, and the Office of
Management and Budget--the Administration's economic
``troika''--are responsible for producing the
economic forecasts that underlie the Administration's budget
proposals. The Council, under the leadership of the Chairman and
the Chief Economist, initiates the forecasting process twice each
year. In preparing these forecasts, the Council consults with a
variety of outside sources, including leading private sector
forecasters.
In 2008, the Council took part in discussions on a range of
macroeconomic issues. The Council contributed significantly to
discussions on the macroeconomic impact of this year's
housing and credit market disruptions, and provided analysis and
support for the Administration's economic growth package and
various policies to promote financial stability.
The Council works closely with the Department of the Treasury, the
Federal Reserve, and other government agencies in providing
analyses to the Administration on these topics of concern. It also
works closely with the National Economic Council, the Domestic
Policy Council, the Office of Management and Budget, and other
offices within the Executive Office of the President in assessing
the economy and economic policy proposals.

International Economic Policies

The Council was involved in a range of international trade and
finance issues, with a particular focus on the determinants of the
international financial crisis and related global economic
slowdown. The Council was an active participant in discussions at
the global, regional, and bilateral levels. Council members
regularly met with economists and policy officials of foreign
countries, finance ministers, other government officials, and
members of the private sector to discuss prevailing issues relating
to the global economy.
In response to high commodity prices in 2007 and the first half of
2008, the Council provided analysis on the causes and impact of
rising crop prices on the United States and on developing
economies. The Council also examined the effects of global biofuels
policies including the U.S. ethanol mandate.
On the international trade front, the Council provided empirical
analysis of pending free trade agreements including the Colombia,
Panama, and South korea free trade agreements. The Council was also
a participant in the U.S. Trade Policy Review, conducted by the World
Trade Organization.
The Council also prepared in-depth analyses for the
President's international itinerary, including travel to
Africa, as well as the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) summit in Peru.
In the area of investment and security, the Council took part in
discussions on the implementation of the Foreign Investment and
National Security Act of 2007 (FINSA), which clarified and improved
the operations of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United
States (CFIUS), including participating in the drafting and
publication of new regulations governing CFIUS under FINSA. The
Council also participated in discussions of individual cases before
CFIUS.
The Council is a leading participant in the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the principal forum
for economic cooperation among the high-income industrial
economies. Senior Council members participated in the OECD's
Economic Policy Committee (EPC) meetings, the Economic Development
Review Committee, as well as the Working Party meetings on
macroeconomic policy and coordination.

Microeconomic Policies

A wide variety of microeconomic issues received Council attention
during 2008. The Council actively participated in the Cabinet-level
National Economic Council and Domestic Policy Council meetings,
dealing with issues including health care, labor, energy policy,
legal reform, the environment, homeland security, education,
pensions, transportation, and technology among others.
The Council was active in the examination of health care policy
related to Medicare spending growth and reform, Health Savings
Accounts, health information technology adoption, tobacco
regulation, and the promotion of price and quality information
transparency. The Council was also heavily involved in the policy
process for the two 2008 State of the Union healthcare proposals:
the Standard Deduction for Health Insurance and the Affordable
Choices Initiative.
The Council was also active in energy and environmental policy
discussions, where it analyzed energy markets, alternatives to
fossil fuels, energy efficiency issues, and environmental
regulatory reform. This included issues such as oil price
volatility, the Renewable Fuels Standard, fuel economy standards,
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, global climate change, air
quality, and the international trade of energy.
The Council examined transportation policies relating to airports,
infrastructure and congestion pricing. The Council also played a
role in the analysis of policy for telecommunications, broadband,
spectrum allocation and patent reform.
The Council participated in discussions related to catastrophic
risk insurance relating to natural disasters and attacks. The
Council also participated in ongoing policy discussions relating to
the government's role in terrorism risk insurance.
The Council was involved with a number of issues within the scope
of education and labor policy. The Council assisted the Department
of Education with analysis of plans to ensure the viability of
Federal student loan programs and also continued to participate in
discussions on regulatory changes to No Child Left Behind. In the
realm of labor policy, the Council was involved with policy
discussions and analysis concerning proposed regulatory changes in
Trade Adjustment Assistance and Immigration, as well as an
extension of Unemployment Insurance.
The Council was active in tax policy discussions relating to fiscal
stimulus and individual income tax, business tax credits, and
corporate taxation issues. Many additional tax policy discussions
were held in connection with other microeconomic discussions
including labor, insurance, pensions, and health care.

The Staff of the Council of Economic Advisers

The professional staff of the Council consists of the Chief of
Staff, the Chief Economist, the Director of Macroeconomic
Forecasting, and the Director of the Statistical Office, nine
senior economists, and seven junior staff including staff
economists, analysts and research assistants. The professional
staff and their areas of concentration at the end of 2008 were:

Chief of Staff
Pierce E. Scranton

Chief Economist
Jane E. Ihrig

Director of                                             Director
Macroeconomic Forecasting                            Statistical Office
Steven N. Braun                                  Adrienne T. Pilot

Senior Economists
Jean M. Abraham................ Health
Scott J. Adams .................... Labor, Immigration, Education,
Welfare
Benjamin Dennis ................ International Trade
Erik Durbin ........................ Legal, Transportation,
Regulation
Wendy M. Edelberg............ Macroeconomics, Labor, Small Business
Elizabeth A. kopits ............. Agriculture, Environment, Natural
Resources
Michael S. Piwowar ............ Public Finance, Technology
William M. Powers ............. International Finance
Robert P. Rebelein .............. Tax, Budget

Staff Economist
Kristopher J. Dawsey .......... Macroeconomics
Joshua k. Goldman ............ Microeconomics and Regulation
Elizabeth M. Schultz ........... International Finance and US
Finance/Banking
Brian T. Waters .................. Public Finance and
Macroeconomics

Research Assistants
Sharon E. Boyd................... Labor, Immigration, Education and
Welfare
Michael B. Love .................. Labor and Education
Aditi P. Sen......................... International Trade and
Investment

Statistical Office
The Statistical Office administers and updates the Council's
statistical information. Duties include preparing material for and
overseeing publication of the monthly Economic Indicators and the
statistical appendix to the Economic Report of the President. Staff
verifies statistical content in Presidential memoranda and produces
background materials for economic analysis. The Office also serves
as the Council's liaison to the statistical community.

Brian A. Amorosi ................ Program Analyst
Dagmara A. Mocala ............ Program Analyst

Administrative Office
The Administrative Office provides general support for the
Council's activities. This includes financial management,
ethics, human resource management, travel, operations of
facilities, security, information technology, and
telecommunications management support.

Rosemary M. Rogers ........... Administrative Officer
Archana A. Snyder .............. Financial Officer
Doris T. Searles................... Information Management
Specialist

Office of the Chairman
Alice H. Williams .............. Executive Assistant to the Chairman
Sandra F. Daigle ............... Executive Assistant to the Chairman
and Assistant to the Chief of Staff
Lisa D. Branch ................. Executive Assistant to the Member
and Assistant to the Chief Economist
Mary E. Jones .................. Executive Assistant to the Member

Staff Support
Sharon k. Thomas .............. Administrative Support Assistant

Jane Tufts, Bruce kaplan, and Anna Paganelli provided editorial
assistance in the preparation of the 2009 Economic Report of the
President.
Student Interns during the year were: William J. Allen; Carl B.
Blau; Andrew V. Carfang; Stacy L. Carlson; Gordon N. Cook; Lauri J.
Feldman; Matthew D. kaczmarek; John V. komkov; Jacob N. Mohs; Jacob
A. Procuniar; kevin L. Richards; Joanne C. Rodrigues; Alex D.
Rosner; Tejas A. Sathian; and Sonia Sohaili.

Departures

The Council's senior economists, in most cases, are on leave
of absence from academic institutions, government agencies, or
private research institutions. Their tenure with the Council is
usually limited to 1 or 2 years. The senior economists who resigned
during the year were: Scott L. Baier (Clemson University); Charles
W. Griffiths (Environmental Protection Agency); Daniel
E. Polsky (University of Pennsylvania); korok Ray (University of
Chicago); Dan T. Rosenbaum (University of North Carolina); Howard
Shatz (Rand Corporation); Sita N. Slavov (Occidental College); and
John J. Stevens (Federal Reserve Board).
The economists are supported by a team of junior staff made up of
staff economists, analysts, and research assistants who generally
work with the Council for 1 or 2 years before returning to school
or other endeavors. The staff economist who resigned during 2008
was: Elizabeth J. Akers. Those who served as research assistants at
the Council and resigned during 2008 were: Mark W. Clements and
Chen Zhao.

Public Information

The Council's annual Economic Report of the President is an
important vehicle for presenting the Administration's
domestic and international economic policies. It is available for
purchase through the Government Printing Office, and is viewable on
the Internet at www.gpoaccess.gov/eop. The Council also publishes
the monthly Economic Indicators, which is available on-line at
www.gpoaccess.gov/indicators. The Council's home page is
located at www.whitehouse.gov/cea.