Obama to nominate UM prof to Federal Reserve board

President Obama has announced that he will nominate Dr. Kathryn Dominguez, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, to fill a vacancy on the Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors.

The seven members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

In a 2013 paper, Dominguez, with her colleague Matthew Shapiro, attributed the disappointing economic recovery to “successive financial/fiscal shocks emanating from Europe together with self-inflicted wounds from the political stalemate over the U.S, fiscal situation”.

In a statement, University President Mark Schlissel lauded Dominguez for her reputation and expertise in global finances. The board, which is chaired by Janet Yellen, sets monetary policy for the Fed, which is the nation’s central bank, and supervises and regulates financial institutions.

Dominguez has focused in her academic work on macroeconomics, especially the workings of foreign exchange rates. “Kathryn joins a long tradition of University of Michigan faculty lending their expertise at the highest levels of service in Washington, D.C., shaping public policy and strengthening communities”.

The economist will be the second Fed board nominee Obama has put forward in recent months.

“With 2.6 million miles of pipelines across our country, it is critical that PHMSA has a permanent administrator who can improve accountability, develop long-term plans and respond quickly when things go wrong”, he said.

Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the ranking Democrat on the Banking Committee, said Dominguez’s nomination “deserves a full, fair, and prompt consideration” in the panel, which has yet to hold hearings on Landon’s nomination under Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala.