Professor Liscow Appointed Chief Economist at White House Budget Office

Professor of Law Zachary Liscow ’15 has joined the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as its Chief Economist, the White House announced on Aug. 18.

Liscow will head OMB’s Office of Economic Policy and work on a wide range of issues, including tax policy, benefit-cost analysis of spending programs, and the economic assumptions underlying the budget. During his government service, Liscow will be on leave from Yale Law School for the 2022–23 academic year.

As part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, OMB assists the President in overseeing the preparation of the federal budget and in meeting policy, budget, management, and regulatory objectives across the Executive Branch. OMB also oversees and coordinates the administration’s procurement, financial management, information, and regulatory policies.

Liscow, an economist and a lawyer, focuses his research on developing cost-effective policies to address inequality and understanding what drives the high costs of building U.S. infrastructure. He also works in a variety of other areas, including environmental policy and empirical legal studies. At Yale Law School, Liscow teaches courses on taxation, economic and tax policy, and inequality in in these policies.

Liscow has previously worked in the federal government. From 2009 to 2010, he was a Staff Economist for Tax, Public Finance, and the Environment at the White House Council of Economic Advisers.