Obama Economist Austan Goolsbee to Lecture

Austan Goolsbee

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Austan Goolsbee, chief economist of President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board and a member of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, will offer a rare look at how economic policy is made when he speaks Monday, April 26, as the Distinguished Public Policy Lecturer at Northwestern University's Institute for Policy Research.

Goolsbee's lecture, titled "The Uses (and Non-Uses) of Economic Analysis in Difficult Times," will take place from 4 to 5:15 p.m. in the Tribune Auditorium of the James L. Allen Center, 2169 Campus Drive, on Northwestern's Evanston campus. Free and open to the public, it will be followed by a reception.

"The goal of the Institute of Policy Research (IPR) is to bring topnotch, policy-relevant research to bear on some of the nation's most pressing social issues," said IPR director Fay Lomax Cook. "As a result, we are honored to have Austan Goolsbee -- one of the leading economic policy makers in the United States -- discuss the challenges of bridging the worlds of policymaking and academia."

Goolsbee, who is on leave from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, will discuss economic policy design, implementation and evaluation in the Obama White House. In his positions in the administration, Goolsbee ensures that President Obama receives research and analysis on the economy that will inform his decision-making.

Prior to his appointment to the White House, Goolsbee was an economics columnist for The New York Times and the online publication Slate. He first served as an economics adviser to Obama during Obama's 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate.

Long identified as a rising star in the field of economics, Goolsbee was selected in 2005 by the Financial Times as one of six "Gurus of the Future." He was named one of the 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow at the 2002 World Economic Forum.

Because seating is limited, individuals interested in attending the lecture are asked to make reservations directly through the Institute for Policy Research Web site at http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/regform.html, by calling (847) 491-3395 or by e-mailing e-dunleavy@northwestern.edu.

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