Renee Bowen has been appointed as Biden’s Senior Economist for Trade

Jamaican Economics University professor, Dr Renee Bowen has been selected to serve in United States (US) President Joe Biden’s administration, as the senior economist for trade with the Council of Economic Advisers.

Bowen will share her expertise with the administration, focusing on international economic matters and coordinating with other agencies, including the Office of the US Trade Representative, National Security Council and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US. The appointment, which was announced yesterday (June 10) is for one year.

Bowen will focus on trade and its national and international impacts, including its influence on supply chains, wages and prices. She has previously worked as a consultant at the World Bank on international trade policy for Sub-Saharan Africa and was an investment banking analyst at JP Morgan Securities.

Originally from Kingston, Bowen earned a civil engineering degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before discovering a passion for economics during her time on Wall Street at JPMorgan Chase. She then earned Master’s and Doctoral degrees in the field from Georgetown University.

For the past year, Bowen has served on California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Council of Economic Advisors, where she advised the Governor and California’s Department of Finance Director, Keely Martin Bosler on economic issues.

Bowen, who currently serves as the Pastor Faculty Fellow at UC San Diego’s (UCSD) School of Global Policy and Strategy and the Department of Economics, said she is extremely excited to serve in the Biden administration by providing expertise on economic policy based on data, research and evidence.

Looking forward to her new appointment

Bowen is looking forward to creating more opportunities to bridge the worlds of policymaking and academia to help build a better future for the United States and the world.

UCSD Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla said: “Dr Bowen’s ongoing research on political economy, microeconomic theory and international trade is widely valued in public-policy decision making at the highest levels… .

Her experience in governance including advising California’s leaders on the complexities of global economic policy will be a tremendous asset to the Biden administration and to our nation.”

Bowen reported that, on her return, she will be able provide UCSD with important experience on the role scholarly research plays at the federal policymaking level.

In Bowen’s absence, Lawrence Broz, associate professor of political science and associate director of CCD, will serve as the interim director of the centre with the assistance of Fabienne Perlov, the centre’s new project director.