Two economics professors may soon be taking leaves of absence from teaching at Dartmouth. But far from taking sabbaticals or extended vacations, these professors may be spending the next year as councils to the President in the nation's capital.
Two of the three seats on President Bush's Council of Economic Advisors stand vacant, and according to those close to the process, it is expected that Dartmouth professors Katherine Baicker and Matthew Slaughter will fill them by the end of the summer.
An associate professor in the Department of Economics, Baicker specializes in Public, Labor and Health Economics. An associate professor of business administration at Tuck, Slaughter taught undergraduates from 1994-2002. Both Baicker and Slaughter have prior public service experience. Furthermore, Baicker spent the 2001-2002 academic year working as a senior economic advisor to the council to which she may soon be named a member.
Slaughter and Baicker were unavailable for comment as this article went to press.
The Council of Economic Advisors, established in 1946, includes two general members and one chairman. Members, generally serving one- or two-year terms, are appointed by the president and subject to Senate approval. The members work with a rotating staff of 10 economists, who are often university professors on temporary leave from teaching. Baicker was a member of this staff in 2001.
The council conducts studies and advises the president on economic issues.
Jonathan Skinner, chair of the Department of Economics, said that he was "as surprised as anyone that two Dartmouth faculty members are being considered for this very important position" but added that his department has a tradition of public service.
Skinner noted that economics professors at every school are fascinated with public policy, but at Dartmouth, Skinner said that the interest is "more than normal" because there are no "pure theorists" in the department. Skinner said that both the administration and faculty make it easy for professors to take leaves of absence. Skinner himself has agreed to assume Baicker's teaching schedule should she be appointed.
Though Slaughter and Baicker would be the first council members from Dartmouth, Professors Marjorie Rose and Andrew Samwick have been involved with the organization. Other public servants from the department include Professor Nancy Marion, who conducts seminars for the International Monetary Fund, and Professor John Scott, who has worked for the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Samwick, who currently heads up the Rockefeller Center, served as chief economist for the Council of Economic Advisors for the fiscal year ending in July 2004. When asked about teaching versus Washington, Samwick said he was "happy to go and happier to come back," though he says he feels that way most times he leaves Hanover.
According to Samwick, he had a positive experience at the council and he says he returned "a lot less cynical about what happens in Washington." Though he acknowledged that a complicated policy-generating apparatus may lead to mistakes, he met qualified people in Washington who, in his opinion, worked hard for the public good. His positive experience led him to pursue a position at the Rockefeller Center, where he could encourage students to work in the nation's capitol.
Samwick also noted that, in his opinion, politics didn't play much of a role in the workings of the council because its members are often professors with Ph.D.s who take their work seriously.
