Economics Professor to Be on Council

Stanford University economics professor Joseph E. Stiglitz has been named to the Council of Economic Advisers, his family said Sunday.

Stiglitz’s wife, Jane Hannaway, said her husband spoke with President Clinton last week, and was en route to Washington on Sunday night.

Stiglitz, 50, widely known as an economic theorist, is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.

Stiglitz, who still faces Senate confirmation, has long been rumored to be a candidate to fill the remaining seat on the three-member board, said Gavin Wright, chairman of the Stanford University economics department.

“He seemed to be quite confident this was going to happen,” Wright told The Times. “I think he will have his biggest impact on the tax system--on how to redesign the tax system so business will be most productive and at the same time, something can be done about the deficit. I think he may also work on the health problem.”