Dr. Keith Hall
Chief Economist
Department of Commerce, United States

As Chief Economist for the U.S. Department of Commerce, Dr. Keith Hall is the principal economic advisor to the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, serves as a special adviser to the Secretary of Commerce, and is a member of the Secretary's principal management team. As advisor to the Under Secretary, he provides technical advice regarding the scope, emphasis, and state of the economic and statistical activities of the Bureau of Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and STAT-USA. These bureaus gather, calculate, and disseminate much of the U.S. demographic, social, and economic data. This includes reports on the nation's gross domestic product, retail sales, personal income, housing starts, inventory levels, and international trade. Dr. Hall also heads the Office of the Chief Economist, which conducts analyses of policy proposals with macroeconomics implications; monitors and interprets current economic developments and domestic fiscal and monetary policy; analyzes economic conditions and policy initiatives of major trading partners; makes projections of the economic outlook; and analyzes major economic policy developments for use by White House officials, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs.

Previously, Dr. Hall was a Senior International Economist in the Research Division at the U.S. International Trade Commission – an independent agency conducting general investigations on any matter involving tariffs and international trade, including conditions of competition between U.S. and foreign industries. Prior to that, he taught full time on the faculties of the University of Arkansas and University of Missouri and holds a Ph.D. in economics from Purdue University.