[The following are full-text versions of the question and answer interviews that appeared in Tuesday's paper.]

Economics Prof. John B. Taylor, also a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, is an economics adviser to John McCain. As undersecretary of the Treasury Department under President Bush, he shaped government policy on international finance. The former adviser to Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush started working with the Arizona senator in January 2007, before he officially announced he was running. He says the advising he does is "largely informal," from exchanging emails with other top economists to flying into Virginia for meetings at campaign headquarters.

The Stanford Daily (TSD): How did you first become involved with this campaign?

John Taylor (JT): I first got involved in January 2007 before he formally announced that he was running for president. I like Sen. McCain's position on economics, especially on free trade and cutting wasteful government spending, and frankly, I like his stance on national security. We're at a point now and will be for the foreseeable future where we need to have a president who is strong on national defense, and with McCain there is such strong experience and such strong principle.

TSD: What do you do in your capacity as a campaign adviser?

JT: The advising I do is largely informal. There's a group of other economists involved and we discuss policy through conference calls and email, mostly things like that. There isn't a formal structure of advisers at this point. The campaign is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, so that's where most of the coordinating takes place. I was back there for a meeting last week.

TSD: As an economic adviser, how do you help shape policy?

JT: Well, one example is the question of what a good tax policy should be. So the economic advisers weigh in on different types of policies. Advisers look to give options, but the decision about the economic plan that gets adopted is ultimately up to Sen. McCain. He's proposing, for example, to reduce the tax rate on corporations to generate more productivity and job growth. As advisers, we do the economic analysis to show why that's a good policy.

So, some of the advice we've given has been to help him develop his overall economic program and put forth a solid plan. But there are also current event type issues. For example, recently there's been the slowdown in the economy and that's a pressing subject that he wants to address, so we discuss it and give him our perspectives on it.

TSD: Some pundits have criticized Sen. McCain for his lack of expertise in economics, saying he lacks the know-how to formulate good policy. As one of his advisers, what would you say to them?

JT: I think he has very good basic instincts about the economy. For example, he believes in the importance of controlling government spending to keep the deficit down and to reduce taxes. On international economic issues, he advocates open trade, and he's taken a stance against certain subsidies, such as corn-based ethanol, that are inefficient. His disciplined approach to spending is something I agree with strongly.

TSD: How do you think McCain's policy differs from that of the other candidates?

JT: On the economic side, you can look at their proposals. Romney has some sensible economic proposals, while Huckabee hasn't focused on the economic side at all. I think overall though, the distinction between the economic proposals of any of the [Republican] candidates isn't that significant if you compare it to the distinction between Republicans and Democrats. There is much more of a policy difference between the parties than between any of the individual candidates within each party. If you look at the experience of the candidates though, there's a lot of difference there, and I think McCain's experience in making policy at the national and the international level is a real advantage.

TSD: What do you do day-to-day as an adviser?

JT: At this point, Sen. McCain is very busy with the campaign. It's a very hectic schedule; you wouldn't believe what his calendar looks like. So at the moment, it's more about advising about current events in the economy and about getting the message out there. He's already decided on his basic economic plan and outlined his tax cut and trade policy. His platform has been more or less set, so now it's about campaigning and that's what he's doing. I think that depending on what happens this Tuesday, hopefully as we move into the general campaign, there will certainly be more work to be done on the economic side.

TSD: What do you think about how the campaign has gone so far?

JT: This has been a very interesting campaign because the field and the primary have been so wide open. There have certainly been ups and downs. Just last summer McCain was way down in the polls. Before that he was up, then he went down, now he's back up again. It's a very exciting campaign and I think it will continue that way after the nomination.