Abraham appointed to President’s Council of Economic Advisers

(July 8, 2008) — University of Minnesota School of Public Health professor Jean Abraham, Ph.D., has been selected as one of ten senior staff economists to serve on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Abraham and her fellow staff economists, as a part of the CEA, will provide the president and other government departments and agencies with the best, current academic thinking on a wide range of subjects.

“This appointment will enable Professor Abraham to have a lasting impact on economic policy and health care reform,” said University President Robert Bruininks. “It is a tribute to her research, her dedication to the important issue of health policy, and to our entire School of Public Health.”

Abraham, assistant professor in the School of Public Health Division of Health Policy and Management, received her doctorate in public policy analysis and management from Carnegie-Mellon University. Her research specialties include health economics and policy, with a specific focus on issues of health insurance access by families, affordability of insurance coverage and medical care, consumer use of health care information to support plan and provider decision-making, and the relationship between quality improvement and costs. She will serve as staff economist to The CEA for the upcoming academic year, leaving the University of Minnesota on July 21, 2008. Because the CEA functions as a nonpartisan advisory council, the appointed CEA staff members will continue to serve their term even if the political party in power changes after the presidential election.

“Having the ability to use my research expertise in this new capacity is exciting,” Abraham said. “I’m anticipating learning a tremendous amount, including new insights on how policy is made and how research informs the policy-making process. This is a particularly exciting time, given renewed interest in health care reform at the federal level.”

The CEA 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 CEA includes three members, a chairman and two members, who are appointed by the president with input from the Senate. In addition to these three core council members, the CEA has a group of ten senior economists, generally professors on leaves from their universities, who act as the senior staff economists. The council also has an additional 10 junior staff economists, typically advanced graduate students who also spend only a year or two at the CEA. Four permanent economic statisticians assist the economists in the interpretation and identification of economic data.

The academic rigor of the CEA distinguishes it from other government agencies. It generally assures a higher level of technical economic sophistication and of familiarity with current economic thinking. Members and staff also use their strong links in the academic community to obtain advice on technical issues throughout their service on the CEA.