I am the director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (based at the Urban Institute) and a visiting professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, where I teach microeconomics and public finance. None of the thoughts in my blog writings should be attributed to either organization.
And, of course, I write the economics and finance blog: dmarron.com.
From 2002 to early 2009, I served in various senior positions in the White House and Congress including:
- Member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)
- Acting Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
- Executive Director of Congress’s Joint Economic Committee (JEC)
In short, I’ve been blessed to serve at some of the best acronyms in government.
Before my government service, I had a varied career as a professor, consultant, and entrepreneur. In the mid-1990s, I taught economics and finance at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. I then spent about a year-and-a-half managing large antitrust cases (e.g., Pepsi vs. Coke) at Charles River Associates in Washington, DC. After that, I took the plunge into the world of new ventures, serving as chief financial officer of a health care software start-up in Austin, TX. After that fascinating experience, I started my career in public service.
I received my Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and my B.A. in Mathematics a couple miles down the road at Harvard.
My wife Esther and I love nature and travel. For glimpses of our recent adventures, please click on over to donaldandesther.blogspot.com. (My favorite post is this one.)

