[Economic Report of the President (2006)] [Administration of George W. Bush] [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 2005 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL Council of Economic Advisers, Washington, D.C., December 30, 2005. Mr. President: The Council of Economic Advisers submits this report on its activities during the calendar year 2005 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, Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman Katherine Baicker, Member Matthew J. Slaughter, Member Council Members and Their Dates of Service Name Position Oath of office date Separation date Edwin G. Nourse Chairman August 9, 1946 November 1, 1949. Leon H. Keyserling Vice Chairman August 9, 1946 Acting Chairman November 2, 1949 Chairman May 10, 1950 January 20, 1953. John D. Clark Member August 9, 1946 Vice Chairman May 10, 1950 February 11, 1953. Roy Blough Member June 29, 1950 August 20, 1952. Robert C. Turner Member September 8, 1952 January 20, 1953. Arthur F. Burns Chairman March 19, 1953 December 1, 1956. Neil H. Jacoby Member September 15, 1953 February 9, 1955. Walter W. Stewart Member December 2, 1953 April 29, 1955. Raymond J. Saulnier Member April 4, 1955 Chairman December 3, 1956 January 20, 1961. Joseph S. Davis Member May 2, 1955 October 31, 1958. Paul W. McCracken Member December 3, 1956 January 31, 1959. Karl Brandt Member November 1, 1958 January 20, 1961. Henry C. Wallich Member May 7, 1959 January 20, 1961. Walter W. Heller Chairman January 29, 1961 November 15, 1964. James Tobin Member January 29, 1961 July 31, 1962. Kermit Gordon Member January 29, 1961 December 27, 1962. Gardner Ackley Member August 3, 1962 Chairman November 16, 1964 February 15, 1968. John P. Lewis Member May 17, 1963 August 31, 1964. Otto Eckstein Member September 2, 1964 February 1, 1966. Arthur M. Okun Member November 16, 1964 Chairman February 15, 1968 January 20, 1969. James S. Duesenberry Member February 2, 1966 June 30, 1968. Merton J. Peck Member February 15, 1968 January 20, 1969. Warren L. Smith Member July 1, 1968 January 20, 1969. Paul W. McCracken Chairman February 4, 1969 December 31, 1971. Hendrik S. Houthakker Member February 4, 1969 July 15, 1971. Herbert Stein Member February 4, 1969 Chairman January 1, 1972 August 31, 1974. Ezra Solomon Member September 9, 1971 March 26, 1973. Marina v.N. Whitman Member March 13, 1972 August 15, 1973. Gary L. Seevers Member July 23, 1973 April 15, 1975. William J. Fellner Member October 31, 1973 February 25, 1975. Alan Greenspan Chairman September 4, 1974 January 20, 1977. Paul W. MacAvoy Member June 13, 1975 November 15, 1976. Burton G. Malkiel Member July 22, 1975 January 20, 1977. Charles L. Schultze Chairman January 22, 1977 January 20, 1981. William D. Nordhaus Member March 18, 1977 February 4, 1979. Lyle E. Gramley Member March 18, 1977 May 27, 1980. George C. Eads Member June 6, 1979 January 20, 1981. Stephen M. Goldfeld Member August 20, 1980 January 20, 1981. Murray L. Weidenbaum Chairman February 27, 1981 August 25, 1982. William A. Niskanen Member June 12, 1981 March 30, 1985. Jerry L. Jordan Member July 14, 1981 July 31, 1982. Martin Feldstein Chairman October 14, 1982 July 10, 1984. William Poole Member December 10, 1982 January 20, 1985. Beryl W. Sprinkel Chairman April 18, 1985 January 20, 1989. Thomas Gale Moore Member July 1, 1985 May 1, 1989. Michael L. Mussa Member August 18, 1986 September 19, 1988. Michael J. Boskin Chairman February 2, 1989 January 12, 1993. John B. Taylor Member June 9, 1989 August 2, 1991. Richard L. Schmalensee Member October 3, 1989 June 21, 1991. David F. Bradford Member November 13, 1991 January 20, 1993. Paul Wonnacott Member November 13, 1991 January 20, 1993. Laura D'Andrea Tyson Chair February 5, 1993 April 22, 1995. Alan S. Blinder Member July 27, 1993 June 26, 1994. Joseph E. Stiglitz Member July 27, 1993 Chairman June 28, 1995 February 10, 1997. Martin N. Baily Member June 30, 1995 August 30, 1996. Alicia H. Munnell Member January 29, 1996 August 1, 1997. Janet L. Yellen Chair February 18, 1997 August 3, 1999. Jeffrey A. Frankel Member April 23, 1997 March 2, 1999. Rebecca M. Blank Member October 22, 1998 July 9, 1999. Martin N. Baily Chairman August 12, 1999 January 19, 2001. Robert Z. Lawrence Member August 12, 1999 January 12, 2001. Kathryn L. Shaw Member May 31, 2000 January 19, 2001. R. Glenn Hubbard Chairman May 11, 2001 February 28, 2003. Mark B. McClellan Member July 25, 2001 November 13, 2002. Randall S. Kroszner Member November 30, 2001 July 1, 2003. N. Gregory Mankiw Chairman May 29, 2003 February 18, 2005. Kristin J. Forbes Member November 21, 2003 June 3, 2005. Harvey S. Rosen Member November 21, 2003 Chairman February 23, 2005 June 10, 2005. Ben S. Bernanke Chairman June 21, 2005 Katherine Baicker Member November 18, 2005 Matthew J. Slaughter Member November 18, 2005 Report to the President on the Activities of the Council of Economic Advisers During 2005 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 Ben S. Bernanke was appointed by the President on June 21, 2005 as Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers. Dr. Bernanke succeeded Harvey S. Rosen, who returned to Princeton University, where he is the John L. Weinberg Professor of Economics and Business Policy. Dr. Rosen succeeded N. Gregory Mankiw, who returned to Harvard University, where he is the Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics. Prior to his appointment to the Council, Dr. Bernanke served as a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Before becoming a Member of the Board, Dr. Bernanke was the Howard Harrison and Gabrielle Snyder Beck Professor of Economics and Public Affairs and Chair of the Economics Department at Princeton University (1996-2002). Dr. Bernanke had served as a Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton since 1985. Dr. Bernanke was nominated by the President on October 24, 2005 to be Chairman of the Federal Reserve System for a term to begin on February 1, 2006. Dr. Bernanke subsequently recused himself from the development of the Administration's economic forecast for the fiscal year 2007 budget. The Chairman of the Council 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 Cabinet meetings, meetings of the National Economic Council, daily White House senior staff meetings, budget team meetings with the President, 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. The Chairman 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 Katherine Baicker was appointed by the President as a Member of the Council of Economic Advisers on November 8, 2005. She succeeds Dr. Rosen, who had served as a Member prior to being appointed Chairman. Dr. Baicker is on leave from the University of California in Los Angeles, where she is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Policy. At the Council Dr. Baicker's responsibilities include work on public finance, labor, and health issues. Matthew J. Slaughter was appointed by the President as a Member of the Council of Economic Advisers on November 8, 2005. He succeeds Kristin J. Forbes, who returned to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management where she is the Mitsubishi Career Development Chair of International Management and Associate Professor of International Management in the Applied Economics Group. Dr. Slaughter is on leave from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College where he is an Associate Professor of Business Administration. At the Council Dr. Slaughter's responsibilities include work on international finance and trade, and industrial organization issues. Macroeconomic Policies As is its tradition, the Council devoted much time during 2005 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. The Council, the Department of the Treasury, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)--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 2005, the Council took part in discussions on a range of macroeconomic issues. An important concern in the second half of the year was providing analysis related to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Council works closely with 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 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 issues, including discussions on trade liberalization at the global, regional, and bilateral levels. This involvement included extensive analysis of alternative liberalization scenarios, participation in deliberations concerning trade policy in a number of industries, and analysis related to U.S. economic interaction with China. In international finance, the Council provided extensive analysis of the implications of changes in the U.S. external position and developments in foreign-exchange markets. The Council participated in discussions concerning international financial relations with both advanced and emerging market economies. Council members regularly met with representatives of the Council's counterpart agencies in foreign countries, as well as with foreign-trade ministers, other government officials, and members of the private sector. In recent months, meetings have been held with the ministers of finance from countries including Great Britain, Japan, and India as well as officials from the European Commission and international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund. Council staff were part of the U.S delegation that participated in Joint Economic Committee discussions in Beijing, focused on banking reform and capital market development in China. In addition, the Council participated in discussions with Chinese officials in the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade. The Council participated in the development of U.S. proposals for providing additional debt relief to the world's poorest countries (Highly Indebted Poor Countries, or HIPCs) that were agreed to at the G-8 Summit held at Gleneagles, Scotland, and prepared analyses for the summits involving the countries of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The Council is also a leading participant in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the principal forum for economic cooperation among the high-in come industrial countries. The Chairman heads the U.S. delegation to the semiannual meetings of the OECD's Economic Policy Committee (EPC) and serves as the EPC Chairman. Dr. Rosen, Dr. Forbes, and Dr. Slaughter participated in meetings of the Economic Policy Committee, as well as meetings of the OECD's Working Party 3 on macroeconomic policy and coordination. Council staff participated in additional OECD meetings. Microeconomic Policies A wide variety of microeconomic issues received Council attention during 2005. The Council actively participated in the Cabinet-level National Economic Council, dealing with such diverse issues as health care policy, energy policy, environment, Social Security, tax policy, immigration, education reform, asbestos litigation, and financial markets and institutions. The Council was particularly active in the area of health care policy, conducting analyses of the sources and impact of rising health care costs, the use of health savings accounts, and a number of issues related to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The Council also participated in discussions related to market-based health care reforms and the tax treatment of health care spending. Energy policy was also an important focus of the Council, with analysis on the impact of hurricanes Katrina and Rita on energy markets, increasing world demand for oil, and the impact of various policy proposals regarding both energy efficiency and energy supply. 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 Statistics, nine senior economists, four staff economists, and five research assistants. The professional staff and their areas of concentration at the end of 2005 were: Chief of Staff Gary D. Blank Chief Economist H. Keith Hall Director of Macroeconomic Forecasting and Statistics Steven N. Braun Senior Economists John E. Anderson ............................ Public Finance William D. Block ............................ International Finance and Development Joseph C. Cooper ............................ Agriculture and Natural Resources Daniel M. Covitz ............................ Macroeconomics and Finance William H. Dow .............................. Health Wayne R. Dunham ............................. Regulation, Technology, and Transportation Dino D. Falaschetti ......................... Regulation and Finance Christine A. McDaniel ....................... International Trade Richard G. Newell ........................... Energy and Environment Economist Rebecca J. Kalmus ........................... Labor Staff Economists Faisal Z. Ahmed ............................. International Finance and Trade, and Macroeconomics Soren T. Anderson ........................... Regulation Andrew R. Hanson ............................ Public Finance Research Assistants Jeffrey P. Clemens .......................... Public Finance and Regulation Sarena F. Goodman ........................... Macroeconomics and Labor Dagmara K. Tchalakov ........................ International Trade and Finance Diana C. Wielocha ........................... Macroeconomics, Finance, and Regulation Jonathan A. Wolfson ......................... Health and Regulation Statistical Office The Statistical Office maintains and updates the Council's statistical information, oversees the publication of the monthly Economic Indicators and the statistical appendix to the Economic Report of the President, and verifies statistics in Presidential and Council memoranda, testimony, and speeches. Linda A. Reilly .............................. Program Analyst (Statistical) Brian A. Amorosi ............................. Program Analyst (Statistical) Dagmara A. Mocala ............................ Research Assistant Catherine Furlong retired from Federal service on September 2, 2005. She had worked in the CEA Statistical Office for 54 years, and had been its Senior Statistician since 1977. A retirement ceremony was held on September 30, where she was honored in comments by present and former Council Chairmen, Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, and Charles Schultz. Chairman Raymond Saulinier was also in attendance. Her untiring dedication to accuracy, detail and the reputation of the Council will indeed be missed. All future Councils will benefit from that wisdom. Administrative Office The Administrative Office provides general support for the Council's activities. This includes financial management, human resource management, and travel, facility, security, information, and telecommunications management support. Rosemary M. Rogers ........................... Administrative Officer 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 Dr. Slaughter Mary E. Jones ................................ Executive Assistant to Dr. Baicker Staff Support Sharon K. Thomas ............................. Administrative Support Assistant Jane Tufts and Barbara Pendergast provided editorial assistance in the preparation of the 2006 Economic Report of the President. Student Interns during the year were: Matthew B. Adler, Taylor W. Buley, Sean D. Clifford, Andrew M. Dietrich, Alan Y. Gu, Brett W. Hollenbeck, Rebecca L. Homkes, Thomas R. Johnson, Aaron W. Kletzing, Edwin H. Lee, Stephanie Mak, Andrew Park, Sean X. Qin, Elizabeth M. Schultz, Brian C. Tucci, and Joseph S. Vavra. Fellows during the year were: Courtney Biesecker, Kenneth Gillingham, and Neal Rappaport. Departures Phillip P. Swagel left the Council as Chief of Staff in February of 2005 to join the American Enterprise Institute as a resident scholar. Donald B. Marron left the Council as Chief Economist in October of 2005 to join the Congressional Budget Office where he is currently the Acting Director. The Council's senior economists, in most cases, are on leave of absence from faculty positions at academic institutions or from other government agencies or research institutions. Their tenure with the Council is usually limited to one or two years. Some of the senior economists who resigned during the year returned to their previous affiliations. They are: Raymond R. Geddes (Cornell University), Pia M. Orrenius (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas), John C. Driscoll (Federal Reserve Board), Joshua S. Graff Zivin (Columbia University), Gerald Auten (Department of the Treasury), Alexander Raskovich (Department of Justice), Philip Levy (State Department) Staff economists are generally graduate students who spend one year with the Council and then return to complete their dissertations. Those who departed the Council in 2005 are: Maria Damon, Peter R. Kingston, Anne Berry, and Carol Cohen. Those who served as research assistants at the Council and resigned during 2005 were: Namita K. Kalyan, Therese C. Scharlemann, Derek A. Haas, James Soldano, and Daniel Ramsey. Brenda Compton, Finance Manager, accepted a position with the Census Bureau. Satiah Pee, Information Management Assistant accepted a position with the Discovery Channel. 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 on the Internet at www.gpoaccess.gov/eop. The Council also has responsibility for compiling the monthly Economic Indicators. The Internet address for the Economic Indicators is www.gpoaccess.gov/indicators. The Council's home page is located at www.whitehouse.gov/cea.