President-elect Obama's choice of Christina Romer to head his Council of Economic Advisers brings a well-known and well-respected academic into his administration. Romer is currently an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley along with her husband, David. The two have worked closely together for years, co-authoring research and serving on the National Bureau of Economic Research's committee that determines business cycles and recessions.
With his pick, Obama is certainly tapping one of the field's power couples. It's also, unintentionally, a black eye for Harvard University, which nearly hired the Romers earlier this year until Harvard President Drew Faust reportedly put the kibosh on the deal.
That the Romers are so well-regarded by their peers of both parties has many economists cheered that the Obama administration is going for the top minds in the field rather than those who adhere most closely to party lines. The Romers' work has even been cited by Republicans as supporting the idea that tax increases negatively impact economic output.
Much of Ms. Romer's work has been on macroeconomic history - studying, for example, the causes of the Great Depression, something that proves quite valuable now as the U.S. economy faces down a similar crisis. Her most recent work, co-authored with her husband, includes the analysis of tax policy on economic growth - at http://elsa.berkeley.edu/cromer/nadraft1108.pdf and http://elsa.berkeley.edu/cromer/draft708.pdf. This semester, she's teaching American economic history and introductory economics, both of which may come in handy in communicating with the American public. Colleagues describe her as a 'mainstream' economist who leans slightly left.
In past administrations, the CEA's role has been to serve as a mini agency of sorts that studies economics' conceptual framework and is often headed by top academics who serve for a few years as a public service. In that regard, Christina Romer is a natural fit for the role. Meanwhile, the National Economic Council - which was created in 1993 - has in the past been used to coordinate policy-making and work more closely with the president (indeed, the director is also the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy).
One Obama advisor said Ms. Romer wasn't known for being confrontational and might have a difficult time dealing with Larry Summers, who will be the president's top economic adviser and can be intellectually intimidating. The Council of Economic Advisers, on its own, has little political power. Its influence in any administration depends greatly on the persuasive powers and personality of its chairman.
But others, like Harvard economics professor and longtime personal friend Gregory Mankiw, say that Ms. Romer is an excellent public speaker and would likely work well with Summers and Timothy Geithner, who will be Treasury secretary. 'I would guess over many issues they would come together,' said Mankiw, who was chair of President Bush's council of economic advisors from 2003-05. 'I think the Obama administration has so far put together a very impressive economic team.'
美国当选总统奥巴马任命克莉丝汀娜·罗默(Christina Romer)出任总统经济顾问委员会(Council of Economic Advisers)主席，从而将一位受人尊敬的知名学术界人士请入了新政府的经济团队。罗默和丈夫大卫·罗默(David Romer)目前都是加州大学伯克利分校的经济学教授。夫妇二人已经密切合作了多年，联手搞研究，并同在美国国家经济研究局(National Bureau of Economic Research)决定商业周期和衰退的委员会供职。
奥巴马此举无疑是启用了经济界最有实力的伉俪之一。这也在无意中给了哈佛大学一计乌眼青。哈佛今年早些时候差点聘用了罗默夫妇，不过据说后来哈佛校长福斯特(Drew Faust)把此事搅黄了。
罗默夫妇无论是在民主党还是在共和党中都深受尊敬，这一事实令很多经济学家称赞奥巴马政府选择了经济学界的顶尖脑瓜而不是党派分明的人物。连共和党都曾引述罗默夫妇的研究成果来支持“增税会给经济产出造成负面影响”的观点。
Reuters
Romer克莉丝汀娜·罗默一直从事宏观经济史方面的研究，比如大萧条的肇因，在眼下美国经济面临类似危机的情况下，这类研究非常有价值。她最近的研究成果（与丈夫合作撰写）包括税收政策对经济增长影响的分析。这个学期，她教授《美国经济史》和《经济学入门》两门课程，在与美国公众沟通的过程中，这两门课程可能都会派上用场。同事们说她是一位略微偏左的“主流”经济学家。
在历届政府中，总统经济顾问委员会一直作为某种研究经济概念性框架的“迷你”机构，其主席常常是担任几年公职的顶尖学术界人士。从这个角度讲，罗默是该职的当然人选。而1993年成立的国家经济委员会(National Economic Council)过去则一直被用来协调政策制定，与总统更为密切地一起工作（的确，国家经济委员会主席还兼任总统经济政策助理）。
奥巴马的一位顾问说，罗默应对人事冲突的能力并不突出，可能会在与萨默斯(Larry Summers)打交道的过程中处境艰难。萨默斯将担任奥巴马的首席经济顾问，他也以挑战才智而著称。总统经济顾问委员会本身几乎没有什么政治权力。它对政府的影响在很大程度上要依靠其主席的说服力和个人性格。
不过其他人，比如哈佛大学经济学教授、罗默的老朋友曼昆(Gregory Mankiw)则说，罗默是位出色的演说家，很可能会与萨默斯和未来财政部长盖纳(Timothy Geithner)共事愉快。他说，我猜测他们会在很多事情上想到一块，我认为到目前为止奥巴马政府组建了一支令人印象深刻的经济团队。曼昆曾在2003-2005年担任布什总统经济顾问委员会主席。
