Professor at Yale Law School: economic & tax policy, understanding why US infrastructure is so costly. Formerly Office of Management and Budget Chief Economist.
New Haven, CT
Joined November 2016
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🚨NEW RESULTS (w/ @cailin_slattery & @WNober)
- When gov't engineers retire, highway projects cost more: the engineers pay for themselves 6 times over
- Improving gov’t engineer quality from the 25th to 75th percentile reduces costs by 14%, equal to 3x avg. engineer pay
Zachary Liscow retweeted
Now published at @apsrjournal. Check out "The Symbolic Politics of Housing" doi.org/10.1017/S00030554261…
New results!
In "The Symbolic Politics of Housing," @dbroockman @j_kalla & I showed that public opinion about housing policies correlates w/ affect towards the groups that the policies make salient (via framing or criteria in the policy itself).
🧵/19
Zachary Liscow retweeted
If you are interested in applying economic policy research to better understand how different types of policy changes affect innovation, productivity, and economic growth, please consider applying to work with my research team at Dartmouth:
apply.interfolio.com/194525
!!!
Professor Michael Woodford ’80 of @Columbia was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences today with Professor Robert E. Hall of @Stanford “for microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilization.”
Read more in @nytimes:
nytimes.com/2026/10/12/busin…
Zachary Liscow retweeted
Yalies -- I'm commenting on Diego Zambrano's fascinating new book, How Americans Enforce the Law, after he talks about it on October 21st at 4pm. Come! law.yale.edu/yls-today/yale-…
In Connecticut, one of the richest places ever:
State jobs take 5–8 months to fill (private: 36 days)
Amtrak averages ~40% of top speed
A 20-year fight to remove traffic lights causing a crash every other day
Why? My @YaleLawSch students found out:
law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/…
We read lots of great people in the course: @ProfSchleich @DKThomp @ezraklein @pahlkadot @JerusalemDemsas @mattyglesias @MarcDunkelman @jennifermharris @MattBruenig @alon_levy @nicholas_bagley @RickPildes @paulesabin @ericgoldwyn
Zachary Liscow retweeted
In Connecticut, one of the richest places ever:
State jobs take 5–8 months to fill (private: 36 days)
Amtrak averages ~40% of top speed
A 20-year fight to remove traffic lights causing a crash every other day
Why? My @YaleLawSch students found out:
law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/…
Zachary Liscow retweeted
Some real-world problems students examined in Professor @ZLiscow’s course on Connecticut state government:
• A vexsome traffic light
• Slow high-speed rail
• Rising healthcare costs in prison despite fewer prisoners
Their research is now online:
law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/…
ALT A student, standing, listens to a speaker seated with a group at a classroom table.
Zachary Liscow retweeted
Love this from Zach. Teach students how progress works!
In Connecticut, one of the richest places ever:
State jobs take 5–8 months to fill (private: 36 days)
Amtrak averages ~40% of top speed
A 20-year fight to remove traffic lights causing a crash every other day
Why? My @YaleLawSch students found out:
law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/…
Zachary Liscow retweeted
Now that I've had your attention w/a 4-letter tweet on cold🚿, let me tell you about a paper I worked on for the past 9yrs (!!) w/Chao and John, just accepted at @JPolEcon 🤩
My JMP showed that flex pay for teachers ⬆️avg average achievement. But is it good for ALL students? 1/n
Zachary Liscow retweeted
Today is launch day for The Everywhere Millionaire! I talked with @PrincetonEcon to answer a few questions about the book.
1. You can order your copy today us.macmillan.com/books/97812…
2. Please share this with friends who might be interested in the American Dream and/or American inequality
3. Amazon reviews are open now too, and a short one helps more than you'd think.
Zachary Liscow retweeted
🚨New Paper🚨The Great American Property Tax Freakout! Since 2024, many states have radically reshaped their property tax systems. The changes are an example of the national trend of carving out influential groups from taxation, in this case a majority group: homeowners. (1/16?)
Zachary Liscow retweeted
Excited to be back in New Haven for the academic year, visiting at YLS. Let me know if you come to town! So far I've had pizza three times in ten days, it's going to be work to keep that pace up.
Zachary Liscow retweeted
With the recent move of the Trump administration to strip ~8,000 federal employees of their civil service protections, here's a timely guide to what the economics literature has to say about the theory and empirics of civil service protections:
nber.org/papers/w35568
Zachary Liscow retweeted
Lawyers: Come join the Counsel's Office at @NYCPlanning!
It is a thrilling time to work at DCP. Under Mayor Mamdani, NYC is crafting ambitious plans to promote a more affordable, sustainable, and vibrant city.
Learn more here: cityjobs.nyc.gov/job/agency-…
Zachary Liscow retweeted
Excited to announce a new speakers series on government effectiveness at @ISPSYale this fall that I'm organizing with @ProfSchleich and @ZLiscow. We have a great set of speakers: @ZaneKashner, @esoltas, @JakeAnbinder, @laurayww.
Zachary Liscow retweeted
Together, Lake Michigan-Huron has a surface area of 45,300 sq mi (117,400 sq km), making it the largest freshwater body by surface area in North America, and the largest lake in the world by surface area.
6/n
Zachary Liscow retweeted
Book announcement: WHO KNOWS BEST? MANDATES, NUDGES, AND FREEDOM. Coming in early 2028, from @yalepress. @tylercowen @JTasioulas @Econ_4_Everyone @ZLiscow
Zachary Liscow retweeted
In Pung vs. Isabella Cty today, the Supreme Court held that the proper valuation method for determining "just compensation" in a foreclosure of property to make up tax debt does not have to be its "fair market value" (what a "willing buyer" and "willing seller" would achieve).
Zachary Liscow retweeted
We're hiring! The Director will help build our brand, establish an institutional voice for public engagement, attract new partners as philanthropic supporters, & demonstrate how our commitment to rigorous research can move the needle for society.
Apply: careers.yale.edu/us/en/job/1…
