Tyson Named U.S. Economic Council Head

Laura D’Andrea Tyson, President Clinton’s top economic adviser, was chosen Tuesday to lead the 2-year-old office that coordinates Administration economic policy.

Tyson, one of the most aggressive defenders of Administration economic policy, will fill the National Economic Council vacancy left when Robert E. Rubin took over as Treasury secretary.

Clinton called Tyson, 47, “a very credible voice for us on the economy,” and thanked her for her “unfailingly frank . . . and principled advice” as chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers.

Clinton called for creation of a National Economic Council in the 1992 campaign as a means of focusing the Administration’s efforts to produce an economic recovery. And outside economists generally have praised the agency for helping craft a clear and consistent economic policy.

But some analysts also have argued that the council’s effectiveness grew largely from the talents of Rubin and from the fact that Clinton’s own convictions on economic policy are clear and coherent--far more so than in some other policy areas.

When she was appointed to head the Council of Economic Advisers, Tyson was criticized in some quarters as a lightweight and faulted by some for her espousal of government intervention in trade matters. But she has proven more moderate on policy than many expected, and won praise for her skills as an advocate.