U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has named former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker as head of a panel that will advise the incoming president on the country's economic crisis.
Mr. Obama said on Wednesday in Chicago that the Economic Recovery Advisory Board will hold his administration accountable for achieving economic goals. He says the panel will include distinguished experts from outside government.
The new panel's leader, Volcker, served as Fed chairman from 1979 to 1987 and is a long-time adviser to Mr. Obama. In the early 1980s Volcker was credited with taming U.S. inflation, but his policies also contributed to a recession.
Mr. Obama rejected criticism that his choice of Clinton-era officials on his economic team undermines his campaign theme of change. He says his administration's vision for change will come from himself, while his economic staff will "combine experience with fresh thinking."