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Session 29: How Data Affects Public Policy
Some critics suggest that Washington policy debates unfold on a platform of hot air, largely disconnected from any factual foundation. While there is a grain of truth in nearly everything cynics say about Washington, the role of data and its importance in policy discussions is growing rapidly. This panel will bring together the heads of two ofWashington’s top tax policy shops and former top Bush and Clinton administration economists to explore how data is used to change public policy. The panel also will discuss how congressionally mandated cuts in funding for data collection may affect the future of empirical public policy work.
Presentations
Links of Interest
Speakers
William Beach
Director, Center for Data Analysis
Heritage Foundation
William Beach is the director of the Center for Data Analysis (CDA). Beach also is a Visiting Fellow at the University of Buckingham in Great Britain. As CDA Director, Beach oversees Heritage’s original statistical research on Social Security, crime, education, trade and a host of other issues, ensuring it is both rigorous in its technical scholarship and produced in time to help inform the public debate over the issue.
Under Beach’s leadership, Heritage has acquired one of the largest privately-held public-policy databases in the United States, as well as a variety of peer-reviewed analytical models. Together, these acquisitions allow the Center to produce some of the most sophisticated “numbers crunching” done anywhere in the world.
In addition to acquiring analytical models, Beach helps build them. He was instrumental in developing the state-of-the-art econometric models Heritage uses to estimate, in detail, how proposed tax changes will likely affect individuals, families, and various business sectors-as well as the overall national economy.
Under Beach’s direction, the CDA has progressed to the point that it today competes as an equal with the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget, the Joint Committee on Taxation, or any other government agency when it comes to “scoring” potential costs and benefits of legislation. Indeed, federal lawmakers often ask the Center to analyze legislation they have drafted, knowing they can get a reliable estimate more quickly from the CDA than from any Hill agency.
Prior to joining Heritage in 1995, Beach held a variety of posts in the public, private and academic sectors. He served as a litigation economist with two Kansas City, Missouri, law firms-Campbell & Bysfield and Watson, Ess, Marshall & Enggas-where he specialized in analyzing how anti-trust legal remedies would alter product pricing and availability. Later, as an economist for Missouri’s Office of Budget and Planning, he designed and managed the state’s econometric model and advised the governor on revenue and economic issues. After a stint in the corporate headquarters of Sprint United, Inc., Beach moved to the Washington, D.C., area to serve as president of the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University.
A graduate of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, Beach also holds a master’s degree in history and economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Leonard Burman
Director, Tax Policy Center
Brookings Institution/Urban Institute
Leonard Burman is director of the Tax Policy Center, Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute, and Visiting Professor at Georgetown University. Dr. Burman served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Analysis from 1998 to 2000, and as Senior Analyst at the Congressional Budget Office from 1988 to 1997. He is the author of a book, The Labyrinth of Capital Gains Tax Policy: A Guide for the Perplexed, and numerous articles, studies, and reports. He is also a commentator for Marketplace. Recent research has examined the individual alternative minimum tax, the changing role of taxation in social policy, and tax incentives for savings, retirement, and health insurance. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. from Wesleyan University.
David Malpass
Chief Global Economist
Bear Stearns
David Malpass is Bear Stearns’ Chief Economist. He joined the firm in February 1993. His duties include economic forecasts, Washington analysis, and global investment themes. He is a member of the Economic Club of New York and the Council on Foreign Relations, and sits on the board of the Council of the Americas.
In 2003, 2004 and 2005, investment institutions voted Mr. Malpass one of Wall Street’s top five economists (second in 2005) in the Institutional Investor survey. His 2001 analyses warned of the deflationary recession, while his 2002 and 2003 pieces highlighted the economic and equity recovery.
Between February 1984 and January 1993, Mr. Malpass held economic appointments at the Treasury and State Departments during the Reagan and Bush Administrations. He was also Republican Staff Director of Congress’s Joint Economic Committee and Senior Analyst for Taxes and Trade at the Senate Budget Committee.
In his government positions, Mr. Malpass worked on an array of economic, budget and international issues, including: the 1986 tax cut, several congressional budget resolutions, the Gramm-Rudman budget law, the savings and loan bailout, NAFTA, the Brady plan for developing country debt, and fast-track trade authority. He was a member of the government’s Senior Executive Service and testified frequently before Congress.
From 1977-83, Mr. Malpass worked in Portland, Oregon as a contract administrator with Esco Corporation, a CPA with Arthur Andersen’s consulting group, and a financial manager with Consolidated Supply Co.
Mr. Malpass received a bachelor's degree in physics from Colorado College and an MBA from the University of Denver. He was a National Merit Scholar Finalist and a Boettcher Foundation Scholar. He studied international economics at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, and speaks Spanish, French, and Russian.
Gene Sperling
Senior Fellow for Economic Policy and Director of the Center for Universal Education
Council on Foreign Relations
Gene Sperling is a Senior Fellow for Economic Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the coauthor of the Council report What Works in Girl's Education. His current work examines ways to extend education to displaced children and those living in emergency situations.
He was the National Economic Adviser and Head of the National Economic Council during the Clinton Administration. Other positions include Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress (current); Contributing Editor and Columnist, Bloomberg News (current); Governor, Philadelphia Stock Exchange (current); Chair, U.S. Chapter of the Global Campaign for Education (current); member, UN Millennium Task Force on Gender Equality and Education; member, Education Expert Group, World Economic Forum's Global Governance Initiative.
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