Announcing the Secretary of State’s New Chief Economist

The U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce the new U.S. Department of State Chief Economist, Dr. Chad P. Bown, who will serve as the Secretary of State’s most senior advisor on economics.  In this role, Dr. Bown will lead the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE), working to strengthen the Department’s ability to conduct economic analysis on high-priority issues, and to advance U.S. interests on foreign policy issues which have an economic dimension.  Dr. Bown will also lead OCE in building economic capacity and understanding within the Department of State, and in connecting the Department to domestic and international stakeholders in the community of professional economists.

Dr. Bown’s extensive academic and research experience, coupled with his leadership in writing and public communication in the field of economics, make him uniquely qualified for this task.  Dr. Bown served as a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics since 2016 and as a lead economist at the World Bank, advising governments on international trade policy.  He was a tenured professor of economics at Brandeis University for twelve years and served on the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2010-2011.  Dr. Bown has collaborated with leading institutions including the World Bank to increase transparency around trade policies and trade barriers and has published extensively in leading economic journals.

Dr. Bown’s appointment demonstrates Secretary Blinken’s commitment to the State Department’s modernization agenda, ensuring economic data and analysis is infused into the work of the Department at all levels.  The appointment also highlights the importance of increasing the Department’s ability to analyze and understand how economics influences virtually every major foreign policy challenge.  In this role, Dr. Bown will lead efforts by OCE’s team of professional economists to build on key economic workstreams within the Department to advance U.S. foreign policy interests.

For further information or media inquiries, please communicate with [email protected].