The Usefulness Of The U.S. Presidential Brain Trust

Presidential brain trust played important role in American economic history, so much so that they are called "czar" by many scholars because, on numerous occasions, they constitute a leading force in economic policy formations. With the promulgation of The Full Employment Act of1946, the American government started to appoint official economic advisors to the president by establishing the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA). The establishment of such an advisory Council was unprecedented; it played a trail-blazing role in presidential decision making by the brain trusts. During the1960s and the1970s, the CEA was at the peak of its influence:it participated actively in many of the major policy formations. However, as the1980s and the1990s witnessed fundamental economic changes, whether CEA sustained its influence was left to be question.This thesis study the role played by the CEA-the chief presidential brain trust in the policy making of the1980s and the1990s. Citing the Reagan and the Clinton Administrations as examples, this thesis compares and contrasts the role played by the CEA under the two Administrations and studies the deep-rooted reasons for changes of the role.Qualitative study is employed to interpret the official documents(Annual Report of the CEA and Economic Report of the President), biographies and memoirs of the CEA members and historical records concerning the trajectories of the CEA’s role.A close review of the role of the CEA in the Reagan and the Clinton Administrations reveals the following findings. First, compared with the CEA of the Reagan Administration, the CEA of Clinton Administration achieved great improvement in the1990s in policy influencing device:it became more tactful in applying interagency cooperation and politics in advising the president. Second, despite the improvement, the CEA in both Administrations shared common concerns:the role played by the CEA in the Reagan and the Clinton Administration proved less effective than its predecessors and failed the expectation of the Full Employment Act of1946. The role of the CEA in both Administrations was restricted to review and education of new policies. This attenuated role was caused by the complicated policy making process, deteriorate relations with the presidents and involvement of more advisory entities.This study concludes that the policy influence of the presidential brain trust such as CEA was weakened. The effort of the American government to combine professionalism with politics has failed due to complexity and evolvement of policy formation system. This thesis has thus enriched the scholarly work on professional utilization in policy making and invites second thoughts on the role of presidential brain trust.