Yair Listokin

Deputy Dean and Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law


Yair Listokin is Deputy Dean and the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School. His scholarship studies tax law, corporate law, bankruptcy law, contract law, and the law of central banking.

FULL BIOGRAPHY
Yair Listokin

Contact Information



Faculty Assistant


Shannon Casanova

Education & Curriculum Vitae


J.D., Yale Law School, 2005

Ph.D., Princeton University, 2002

M.A., Princeton University, 2000

A.B., Harvard University, 1998

Courses Taught


  • Federal Income Taxation
  • Contracts
  • Law and Macroeconomics
  • Law, Economics, and Organization

Yair Listokin is Deputy Dean and the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School. His scholarship studies tax law, corporate law, bankruptcy law, contract law, and the law of central banking. His research emphasizes a macroeconomic perspective that differs dramatically from the microeconomic perspective that dominates law and economics. In his 2019 book, Law and Macroeconomics: Legal Remedies to Recessions (Harvard University Press), Professor Listokin argues that law offers an under-developed but desperately needed tool for stabilizing depressed economies when monetary and fiscal policy prove inadequate. Professor Listokin has been honored with a Milton Friedman Fellowship from the Becker-Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago and has served as a Visiting Professor at Columbia Law School, Harvard Law School, and NYU School of Law. His research has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, cnn.com, The Boston Globe, and Vox. In addition to his interests in law and macroeconomics, Professor Listokin studies the determinants of mental health in the legal profession.

Wednesday, May 10, 2023


You Can’t Take It With You

Professors John D. Morley ’06 and Yair Listokin ’05 asked 9,000 American adults to contemplate how they would divide their property among relatives, friends, and others if they were to pass away immediately. The results were surprising.

Monday, March 20, 2023


How Not to Break the Bank

Work by Professors Yair Listokin and Natasha Sarin point out some of the flaws in the current banking regulatory system and steps that should be considered moving forward.

Thursday, March 16, 2023


To Prevent Bank Runs, Fix Bank Governance — A Commentary by Yair Listokin ’05

Yair Listokin ’05 is Deputy Dean and the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Friday, March 10, 2023


Law School Co-Hosts Law and Economics Conference in Jerusalem

Yale Law School and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem will jointly host a March 19 conference that presents new scholarship in law and economics.

Sunday, December 25, 2022


How To Help the Fed and Avoid a Recession — A Commentary by Yair Listokin ’05 and Rory Van Loo

Yair Listokin ’05 is Deputy Dean and the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Thursday, July 14, 2022


Elon Musk Bought Twitter. Now He Must Own It — A Commentary by Yair Listokin ’05 and Jonathan Zytnick ’11

Yair Listokin ’05 is Deputy Dean and Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Thursday, February 17, 2022


Maybe Lawyers Aren’t Uniquely Unhappy After All, Study Says

A study by Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law Yair Listokin ’05 and Ray Noonan ’21 on mental health and the legal profession is the subject of a recent report.

Thursday, December 9, 2021


Bring Back the Tax Ferrets — A Commentary by Yair Listokin '05

Yair Listokin is the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Thursday, November 4, 2021


Macroeconomics Conference Examines Law in a Post-Pandemic World

In October, Yale Law School partnered with several institutions from around the globe to host the Fourth Conference on Law and Macroeconomics.

Monday, May 10, 2021


It's Time for the IRS to Question Legacy Admissions — A Commentary by Yair Listokin ’05

Yair Listokin ’05 is the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Thursday, March 4, 2021


Give strained student loan borrowers their fresh start — A Commentary by Yair Listokin ’05

Yair Listokin ’05 is the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021


Professor Listokin’s Research Used in Washington Center for Equitable Growth Factsheet

The Washington Center for Equitable Growth has adapted the research of Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law Yair Listokin ’05 into a factsheet titled, “Executive action to coordinate federal countercyclical regulatory policy.”

Friday, October 16, 2020


New Law School Workshop Explores Impact of COVID Across All Aspects of Law and Policy

The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy has convened a weekly interdisciplinary workshop with leading experts from law, policy, economics, health, and governance to address issues related to all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wednesday, September 9, 2020


Listokin Awarded Gaddis Smith International Book Prize

Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law Yair Listokin ’05 has been awarded the Gaddis Smith International Book Prize for Law and Macroeconomics: Legal Remedies to Recessions.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020


Congress must stop unemployment tax increases from worsening crisis — A Commentary by Yair Listokin ’05

Yair Listokin ’05 is the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Monday, March 30, 2020


Yair Listokin on COVID-19 and the Economy

Yair Listokin ’05, Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School, answered questions about the interconnected threats of COVID-19 and recession and what law and regulation can do to stimulate the economy without harming public health.

Wednesday, March 25, 2020


The missing piece from the stimulus package that could boost the economy — A Commentary by Yair Listokin ’05

Yair Listokin ’05 is the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Monday, March 23, 2020


How Far Could the Fed Go in Responding to COVID-19?

Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law Yair Listokin ’05 is quoted in a Knowledge@Warton articleabout the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank’s response to the coronavirus. He is interviewed in a related podcast.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020


Fighting the next recession in the United States with law and regulation, not just fiscal and monetary policies

Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law Yair Listokin has written one of the 21 essays in “Vision 2020: Evidence for a stronger economy,” a compilation presenting innovative, evidence-based, and concrete ideas to shape the 2020 policy debate from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

Wednesday, October 30, 2019


What Christine Lagarde’s ECB Presidency Means for the Treaty of Lisbon — A Commentary by Yair Listokin ’05

Yair Listokin ’05 is the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Thursday, June 6, 2019


The Economics of Tax Policy

Shibley Family Fund Professor Yair Listokin ’05 was interviewed on a podcast about topics from his new book, Law and Macroeconomics: Legal Remedies to Recessions.

Wednesday, April 10, 2019


How the Law Can Boost Recession Recovery

Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law Yair Listokin '05 took part in a radio Q&A about his new book, Macroeconomics: Legal Remedies to Recessions.

Thursday, April 4, 2019


Is Law Necessary to Save the Nation from the Next Economic Recession? — A Commentary by Yair Listokin ’05

Yair Listokin '05 is the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Thursday, March 14, 2019


Can Law Cure a Recession?

Law and Macroeconomics: Legal Remedies to Recessions is the new book by Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law Yair Listokin ’05.

Tuesday, March 12, 2019


Director's Cut: The case for a legislative remedy for recessions

Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law Yair Listokin ’05 discussed how law might be deployed as a macroeconomic tool to counter financial crisis.

Friday, March 9, 2018


Let the feds’ cap on tax deductions stand—A Commentary by Yair Listokin ’05

Yair Listokin ’05 is the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Thursday, September 1, 2016


Dow Chemical Share Trading Benefits Buffett, Yale Professor Says

Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law Yair Listokin ’05 is quoted in an article about possible price manipulation of Dow Chemical stock.

Wednesday, August 31, 2016


Dow Chemical’s 1-in-1000 Stock Action Works in Warren Buffett’s Favor

Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law Yair Listokin ’05 is quoted in an article about possible price manipulation of Dow Chemical stock.

Sunday, April 3, 2016


Here’s why we should abolish Tax Day—A Commentary by Yair Listokin ’05

Yair Listokin ’05 is the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Friday, November 13, 2015


Yair Listokin ’05 to Deliver Shibley Inaugural Lecture

Yair Listokin ’05, the Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law, will deliver a lecture titled “What Happened to Macro in Law and Economics?” on November 16. 

Tuesday, April 14, 2015


Ask the Experts: Turning Taxes Into an Investment

Shibley Family Fund Professor of Law Yair Listokin ’05 is interviewed in an article about the return on investment of tax dollars.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014


Professors Listokin, Priest, and Rodríguez Receive New Faculty Appointments

The Yale Corporation has voted to approve three new appointments to the Yale Law School faculty.