WASHINGTON—FCC Chairman Ajit Pai today announced the appointment of Jerry Ellig as chief economist for the Federal Communications Commission. Dr. Ellig currently serves as a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
“I’m excited that Dr. Ellig will lend his talents to the FCC as we continue to integrate economic analysis into our decision-making and create an agency culture that supports big-picture economic thinking once again,” said Chairman Pai. “Dr. Ellig’s record of distinguished scholarship and prior government service makes him the right person for this job.”
The FCC chief economist advises the Chairman, Commissioners, and Bureaus and Offices on economic issues. Additionally, in April, Chairman Pai announced his intention to create an Office of Economics and Data to provide economic analysis for rulemakings, transactions, and auctions; manage the commission’s data resources; and conduct longer-term research on ways to improve the commission’s policies. The chief economist will assist the agency in standing up this new office.
Currently, Dr. Ellig’s work focuses on the role of economic analysis in the U.S. regulatory process, competition policy in telecommunications, broadband and electronic commerce, and performance management in government agencies. Most recently, he has published a series of papers that assess the quality and use of regulatory impact analysis in both executive branch and independent agencies. These papers identify best practices, shortcomings, and reasons for variation in the quality of agencies’ analysis.
Dr. Ellig has worked as a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University since 1996. He previously served in the federal government as deputy director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission (2001-03) and as a senior economist at the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress (1995-96). He has also served as an associate professor of economics and adjunct professor of law at George Mason University. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in economics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and a B.A. in economics from Xavier University in Cincinnati.
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