Economic Report President

countries. The Council heads the U.S. delegation to the semiannualmeetings of the OECD’s Economic Policy Committee; Dr. Yellen servesas that committee’s chair. Dr. Yellen also represented the UnitedStates at the 1998 OECD Ministerial and participated in the OECD’sHigh Level Group on Sustainable Development. In 1998 Dr. Frankelparticipated in the OECD’s Working Party 3 on macroeconomic policycoordination. Dr. Blank led the U.S. delegation to the OECD’sWorking Party 1, which focuses on budget and other microeconomicissues. Dr. Steven N. Braun, Director, Macroeconomic Forecasting atthe Council, led the U.S. delegation to the OECD annual examinationof the United States.MICROECONOMIC POLICIESDuring 1998 the Council was an active participant in a range ofmicroeconomic policy discussions. The Council participated in variousinteragency discussions on labor market issues, health care, education,urban issues, child care, statistical policy, and welfare reform.The Council also participated in working groups on the minimumwage, pensions, training initiatives for displaced workers, immigrantvisas, unemployment insurance reform, and farm policy.The Council was actively involved in the President’s Initiative onRace. It coordinated the production and release of a document presentingimportant indicators of social and economic well-being by raceand ethnicity for use by a national audience including educators andpolicymakers. In October the Council helped coordinate a major conferenceon racial trends in the United States, sponsored by the President’sInitiative on Race and organized by the National ResearchCouncil.In June 1998 the Council issued a report titled Explaining Trendsin the Gender Wage Gap. The report concluded that although the gapbetween women and men’s wages has narrowed substantially sincethe signing of the Equal Pay Act in 1963, a significant wage gapremains, which cannot be explained by differences between male andfemale workers in labor market experience and in the characteristicsof jobs they hold.In the areas of regulation and competition policy, the Council helpeddevelop important Administration initiatives to improve the performanceof markets, both domestically and internationally. On thedomestic front the Council provided background information for andparticipated in a review of merger effects and related policy issues,and participated in interagency reviews of competition and pricing invarious sectors of the transportation market. Dr. Yellen testifiedbefore the Senate Judiciary Committee on the economic impact of314