Greenwood Biographical Directory of the Council of Economic Advisers

This book consists of essays on the 45 economists who have served on teh CEA, covering their economic and political programs and ideas as well as their lives. . . . This new biographical dictionary is an authoritative and substantive reference source covering federal economic policy since World War II through biographical information on the various economic advisers appointed in this period. Reference Books Bulletin The more than 40 biographical essays in this volume are written by practicing scholars of economics, and are presented in alphabetical order. They provide comprehensive pictures of the council members, analyzing their ideas and their influence on both economic theory and governmental policy. An appendix details council membership during each presidential administration, allowing a clear understanding of the degree to which the advice and actions of particular individuals were effective. Council membership has traditionally been considered a prestigious assignment: consequently, the biographies collected in this directory represent a substantial group of the country's most important economists. Review ?As editor Sobel points out in a short, informative introduction to this encyclopedic dictionary, before the first administration of Franklin Roosevelt, economists played a very small role in creating national economic policy. During Roosevelt's administrations, they became increasingly important in formulating governmental policy, and under Harry Truman's first administration, the Employment Act of 1946 mandated the formation of a Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Succeeding administrations used the council with varying frequency, and the influence of the CEA rose and fell according to the administration. This book consists of essays on the 45 economists who have served on the CEA, covering their economic and political programs and ideas as well as their lives. Written by knowledgeable, professional economists and other scholars, the essays, which range in length from 2 to 12 pages, attempt to show 'who were or are these people, what were their ideas, and how they influenced economic thought and government behavior.' . . . This new biographical dictionary is an authoritative and substantive reference source covering federal economic policy since World War II through biographical information on the various economic advisers appointed in this period. University and four-year college libraries should have this in their reference collections, as well as large public libraries and libraries serving government at the state and federal levels.?-Reference Books Bulletin ?The focus is primarily on the contributions made by the 45 people who were appointed to the council of Economic Advisers from its inception in 1946 through 1985. The essays, introduced with a brief history of the Council, range in length from three to eight or nine pages and were written by three dozen contributors, mostly economists. Basic facts on birth, death, and education are included; coverage of family and background, professional activities, and honors varies in detail from essay to essay. The preface notes that contributors address the questions, Who were and are these people, what were their ideas, and how did they influence economic thought and government behavior'; but it says nothing about the methods of gathering information except that authors have gone through the relevant literature.' A source such as The President and the Council of Economic Advisers, Interviews with CEA Chairmen, ed. by Erwin C. Hargrove and Samuel A. Morley deserved mention. Some of the works mentioned in the body of the essays are cited too incompletely to be readily identified; and the individual bibliographies (primarily limited to short lists of the writings of the Council members) would have been more useful had they been longer. There is an index of names as well as an appendix Membership in the CEA by Presidential Administrations.' Reco