Breaking Barriers: Economist Cecilia Rouse

African American women play important roles in all aspects of American society. The groundbreaking ascendancy of Kamala Harris, the first African American and South Asian woman to the first presidency of the United States, is just one of the many ways the Biden administration is making history. Cecilia Rouse, the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), is not a household name, but she may well become one. She is one of the leading economists in the country. She is the first woman and the first African American to serve as the president’s chief economic adviser.

Rouse is no stranger to being a pathbreaker. A Harvard PhD in Economics, she is an expert in labor economics with a focus on the economics on education. Her work focuses on equality and the effects of long-term unemployment. Much of her professional career has been spent at Princeton University. She is the Lawrence and Shirley Katzman and Lewis and Anna Ernst Professor in Economics of Education. Rouse became the Dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs in 2012. She has also been an active member of the National Bureau of Economic Research where she served as a Research Associate from 1992 to 2014 and as a member of the Board of Directors from 2014 to 2021. She also previously served as a member of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors. She served on the CEA under President Bill Clinton from 1998 to 1999.

President Biden nominated Rouse to chair the Council of Economic Advisers. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 2nd.  In this role, she will provide the president with economic advice related to economic policy in the domestic and international spheres. She will also lead the CEA. In this capacity, Rouse will lead research and analysis of current economic trends and developments. She will also make economic recommendations to the president based on the council’s findings.

Rouse has noted that she sees her role at CEA as important in achieving a broader set of mandates. Mandates related to fostering racial and gender equity across all branches of the government. During her confirmation hearings, Rouse said: “As deeply distressing as this pandemic and economic fallout has been, it is also an opportunity to rebuild the economy by increasing the availability of fulfilling jobs and leaving no one vulnerable to failing through the cracks.” She has also announced several initiatives such as auditing how the government collects and reports economic data. Rouse hopes to analyze this data by race, gender and various demographic variables. The goal is to improve government’s ability to construct economic policies to help disadvantaged groups.

Rouse has taken a significant role in shaping economic policy in the past. She played an important role in advising President Obama on how to navigate the Great Recession and institute sustainable job and economic growth, Rouse was also involved in the Obama Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. This act gave unprecedented support to HBCUs. It was believed to be among the largest investments in these institutions by the federal government.

Rouse will join an equally distinguished economic team in the Biden administration. Janet Yellin, the first woman to serve as Treasury Secretary, and Gina Raimondo, the Commerce Secretary, are both highly accomplished academics and government officials.  Both Yellin and Raimondo hold doctoral degrees. Other embers of the CEA include Jared Berenstein and Heather Boushey. Rouse is one of the most visible members in the field of economics. She will be a major architect of the 21st century American economy.

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This post was previously published on Historian Speaks.

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