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Obama to nominate UC Berkeley professor to Council of Economic Advisors

By Ronna Kelly

President Barack Obama today (Wednesday, Feb. 23) announced his intent to nominate Carl Shapiro, a professor of business and of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, as a member of the Council of Economic Advisors.

Shapiro, who joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 1990, currently is on leave to work as the deputy assistant attorney general for economics in the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division. He also served in this role from 1995 to 1996.

Carl Shapiro

Carl Shapiro (Photo by Jim Block, San Francisco)

“Carl Shapiro has demonstrated knowledge and dedication throughout his career,” Obama said in a statement issued by the White House. “I am grateful that he has chosen to take on this important role, and I look forward to working with him in the months and years to come.”

The Council of Economic Advisors, comprised of a chairman and one member, is charged with providing the president with advice on both domestic and international economic policy. Once confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Shapiro will succeed Cecilia Rouse, who will be leaving the Council of Economic Advisors to return to Princeton University.

Shapiro helped establish UC Berkeley as a leading force in patent reform by bringing Federal Trade Commission hearings to the Haas School, where he is the Transamerica Professor of Business Strategy, and organizing a campus-wide conference on patent reform.

In 1999, Shapiro and Hal Varian, a professor emeritus at the Haas School, the Department of Economics and the School of Information who currently is on leave to serve as chief economist at Google,  co-authored “Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy.” The widely acclaimed book deconstructs the economic factors affecting information technology markets.

After his confirmation, Shapiro will join a growing cast of UC Berkeley faculty members who have served on the Council of Economic Advisors. They include Haas School professor and former dean Laura Tyson, who served on the council from 1993 to 1995, and Haas School and economics professor emerita Janet Yellen, who served from 1997 to 1999.  UC Berkeley economics professor Christina Romer served as chairperson of the council from 2009 to 2010.

The White House press release is available online.