Economic Report President

mergers in the United States. The Council also participated in a workinggroup on consumer privacy policy, and in another group on naturaldisaster insurance. The Council worked to consider questions raisedby proposed tobacco legislation. It was also engaged in issues relatedto the privatization of the U.S. Enrichment Corporation.The Council has been active on several matters relating to telecommunications.It has worked with the Office of the Vice President toexamine increases in growth and competition in the U.S. telecommunicationsindustry, and participated in interagency working groups toreview a variety of regulatory matters. The Council played an activerole in developing the Administration’s response to proposed legislationto reform the global satellite industry and worked with otheragencies to develop competitive principles designed to increase consumerbenefits from satellite communications. The Council took partin interagency efforts to increase competition and efficiency in electricpower markets in a manner consistent with important environmentaland social objectives.The Council was active in a range of policy discussions on naturalresources and the environment, including implementation of theClean Air Act, as it applies to automobiles, power plants, and otherpollution sources. It was involved in the development and analysis ofthe Administration’s global climate change policy. After the negotiationof the Kyoto Protocol, the Council responded to requests from theCongress and the public to analyze the economic impact of the climatechange agreement. The Council led the preparation and release of theAdministration’s economic analysis, titled The Kyoto Protocol and thePresident’s Policies to Address Climate Change: Administration EconomicAnalysis, which was released in July. Dr. Yellen testified on sixoccasions before several House and Senate committees regarding theAdministration’s findings. The Council has been particularly active indeveloping and promoting plans for the international trading of emissionspermits and other market mechanisms to achieve the targets ofthe Kyoto Protocol most efficiently. To advance these plans, Membersand staff traveled to and consulted with officials from Argentina,China, France, and the Republic of Korea.The Staff of the Council of Economic AdvisersThe professional staff of the Council consists of the Chief of Staff,the Senior Statistician, nine senior economists, the Senior Advisor tothe Council, five staff economists, and three research assistants. Theprofessional staff and their areas of concentration at the end of 1998were:315