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TRANSCRIPT: AUSTAN GOOLSBEE INTERVIEW

OBAMA: IN PURSUIT OF A MORE PERFECT UNION

Austan Goolsbee, former chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisors, speaks at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

Austan Goolsbee, former chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisors, speaks at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

Austan D. Goolsbee is the Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He has been part of Chicago’s Booth School since 1995, after receiving his Ph.D. from MIT. From 2000 to 2002, Goolsbee was an Alfred P. Sload Fellow, and from 2006 to 2007, he was a Fulbright Scholar through the Fulbright Commission Belgium. His associations include membership in the Panel of Economic Advisors to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, columns in the New York Times and Slate, and a stint hosting a television show on the History Channel. In 2004, Obama turned to Goolsbee for guidance on economic issues during his campaign for the Illinois seat in the US Senate. After advising Obama throughout a successful US Senate campaign, Goolsbee then worked as Obama’s senior economic policy advisor during the 2008 presidential campaign. In this role, he worked on everything from debate preparation and crisis management to helping craft policy positions on taxes, energy, healthcare, financial regulation, and the housing crisis. In September 2010, Goolsbee became the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, making him the second-youngest person ever to hold this title. Additionally, Goolsbee directed the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, advising President Obama on the stimulus bill, the auto industry bailout, housing policy, and new regulations on Wall Street. In 2011, Goolsbee announced he would leave the administration to return to the University of Chicago. Goolsbee was the senior policy aide with the longest personal relationship with Obama.

"I'm a data hound and so I usually end up working on whatever things I can find good data on."

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