Professors Advise Dole Campaign

Two Harvard economics professors met Wednesday with Republican presidential candidate Robert J. Dole and seven top-ranking Senate Republicans to offer advice on economic proposals for the fall elections.

Professor of Economics Robert J. Barro and Baker Professor of Economics Martin S. Feldstein '61 were among six economists who were invited to the strategy session.

The working group discussed two main strategies: raising the wages of unskilled and working-class laborers and fostering overall economic growth, Feldstein said.

Although Feldstein declined to discuss policies mentioned, he said a proposal to raise the minimum wage--which has fallen to its lowest real level since the early 1950s--was "not a major subject."

President Clinton has also stressed the importance of reversing the wage gap between skilled and unskilled workers, which has continually widened since the early 1980s.

Dole's meeting was held in the aftermath of his campaign's cancellation of a much-publicized speech in Detroit this month where the outgoing Kansas senator was supposed to unveil his economic platform.

Many feel that Dole, who also canceled a speech outlining his foreign policy proposals, is still searching for a concrete vision to bring voters.

But Feldstein, who chaired President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers from 1982 to 1984, said Dole was "very experienced in all domestic issues."

"I suspect in both cases [the cancellation] was so Dole could take a more deliberate approach to writing the message, rather than just giving a standard summary of his past views," Feldstein said.

Barro, reached at his home last night, was unwilling to comment.