Rebuilding our economy: CEA Chair Rouse makes the case for public sector involvement

The McCourt School of Public Policy hosted Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) Chair Cecilia Rouse at the 2022 Whittington Lecture for a discussion on “Rebuilding Our Economy: How Government Can Help Lay the Foundation for Economic Growth.” Chair Rouse, the first African American to serve as CEA chair, previously served as the dean of the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and as a member of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, a three-member panel that provides the president with analysis and advice on a wide range of domestic and international economic policy issues.

“Chair Rouse has strived to ensure that the economy works for all families and groups of people,” said 2022 Whittington Scholar Brooke LePage (MPP-E ‘23). “She sees the faces of the people behind the policy.”

How investing in the public sector can boost the economy

Chair Rouse’s lecture highlighted the areas in which the public sector can be involved during periods of economic growth and recovery and three of the Biden-Harris Administration’s critical economic policy initiatives: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Creating Helpful Incentives for Producing Semiconductors for America (CHIPS) and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

“We’ve been disinvesting in our public sector for quite some time,” she said. “We made a good start, but it’s just a start.”

She underscored the challenges facing the United States and its workforce, particularly “long COVID” and the unknown implications of post-COVID health conditions, as well as a growing number of critical areas in need of public sector involvement, from climate change and childcare to renewable energy.

“Investing in the public sector is an important tool for addressing the many diverse challenges facing the nation,” said Chair Rouse, who believes strongly that “the public sector is better equipped at times handle [the] losses” associated with financial risks like investing in physical capital to improve productivity. 

“If we’re going to get back to a place of steady growth,” she said, “we need to be improving our capacity for productivity.”

Leading the country toward recovery

Chair Rouse, as well as CEA members Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey, will help lead the country’s economic recovery by publishing the annual “Economic Report of the President,” including analysis on economic developments and trends, and policy recommendations that benefit the American people. 

During their tenure, the Council members make recommendations on both domestic and international policy, basing their recommendations on economic research and empirical evidence.

“There’s much work to be done,” said Chair Rouse. “We need new ideas to solve these problems.”