President-elect Barack Obama announced on Monday that he is nominating UC Berkeley economics professor Christina Romer to serve as the chair of his Council of Economic Advisers.

"Christina has done groundbreaking research on many of the topics our administration will confront, from tax policy to fighting recessions, and her clear-eyed, independent analyses have received praise from both conservative and liberal thinkers alike," Obama said at an introductory press conference in Chicago yesterday. "I look forward to her wise counsel in the White House."

Romer and her husband, David, also an economics professor, have taught at UC Berkeley since 1988. Both served as advisers to Obama during his presidential campaign. She could not be reached for comment.

If confirmed by the Senate as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Romer will be responsible for preparing the annual Economic Report of the President, an analysis of current economic trends and forecasts of the future. The report helps the president develop policy to respond appropriately to the economic climate. The council also evaluates the effectiveness of the government's existing policy and offers suggestions for improvement.

Romer has spent a large part of her career studying the Great Depression. She has been published numerous articles on the subject and led a training seminar on the Depression for the International Monetary Fund in 2002, 2003 and 2005. Romer also authored the entry on the Great Depression in the 2005 Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Romer is currently working on three papers, all of which are related to tax policy and its effect on the larger economy. In one paper currently in progress, Romer and her husband describe a new measure of economic change that indicates tax increases have a "highly contractionary" effect on the economy. Another line of the Romers' research has found that, historically, tax cuts have eventually led to tax increases.

During the election, Obama said he would increase taxes for families whose income exceeds $200,000 yearly, and cut taxes for families making less.

Romer will replace Edward Lazear, a professor of economics at Stanford University, the current chair.

She will not be the first UC Berkeley professor to head the council. Laura Tyson, a professor at the Haas School of Business, and Janet Yellen, a professor emeritus of economics, both held the post under President Bill Clinton.

Tyson is currently serving on Obama's 17-person Transition Economic Advisory Board along with Robert Reich, a professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy. The board is responsible for developing policies to comprehensively respond to the economic crisis.

Romer is teaching two graduate seminars in economic history this semester. She was scheduled to teach "Introduction to Economic History" and two field-studies courses in the education department next semester, but whether the classes will still be taught is unclear.

UC Berkeley spokesperson Kathleen Maclay said that it was unlikely she would continue teaching while she held the post.

"She is a fabulous teacher," said Aaron Edlin, a former student of Romer's when she taught at Princeton University who is now a professor of economics and law at UC Berkeley. "Surely it will be a loss for the students of Berkeley for a few years, but I think it's a gain for our country so they shouldn't mourn it too much."

Tags: ELECTIONS 2008, BARACK OBAMA, ECONOMICS