Mines professor to join White House Council of Economic Advisers

Ian Lange, assistant professor in the Division of Economics and Business at Colorado School of Mines, has been named to the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

Lange will serve as a senior economist on the council, which is charged with providing the president of the United States with advice on domestic and international economic policy issues. Lange’s focus will be on energy and environmental issues.

“I am honored to have this opportunity to work for the people. My time at Mines has allowed me to interact with some amazing students, faculty and alumni. I plan to integrate all that I have learned from these people in order to provide objective advice on matters of economic policy,” Lange said. “To bring my experience and knowledge back to the Mineral and Energy Economics Program, as well as other parts of Mines, in Spring 2021 will be a privilege.”

He will remain on the faculty at Mines while serving his one-year term on the council.

Lange has taught at Mines since 2014, and his research focuses on environmental, energy and behavioral economics as well as the economics of regulation. He also serves as director of the Mineral and Energy Economics Program and a faculty fellow of the Payne Institute for Public Policy.

Before joining Mines, Lange was a member of the economics faculty at the University of Stirling, in Scotland, and worked as an economist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Washington.

“Mines is honored that Dr. Lange has been selected to serve the country in this prestigious role,” said Kevin Moore, vice provost for strategic initiatives and dean of integrative programs at Mines. “He is very much one who crosses disciplinary boundaries to collaborate, such as with our Space Resources Program, and I am always impressed by his combination of solid scholarly ability and his ‘get it done’ attitude. I have no doubt that Ian’s time with the Council of Economic Advisers will be well spent, a benefit both for Mines and for CEA.”

Created by the Employment Act of 1946, the council is made up of a chairman and two other members appointed by the president, as well as a group of senior economists, staff economists, research economists and research assistants. In addition to providing recommendations and analysis based on research and empirical evidence, the council is also responsible for assisting and advising in the creation of the annual Economic Report of the President.