Your Guide to Executive Learning

All experts
AboutBiographyCases

Laurence Kotlikoff

Professor of Economics at Boston University

Schools

  • Boston University

Links

Biography

Boston University

Laurence J. Kotlikoff is a William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor and Professor of Economics at Boston University, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and President of Economic Security Planning, Inc., a company specializing in financial planning software. Professor Kotlikoff received his BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973 and his PhD in Economics from Harvard University in 1977.

From 1977 through 1983, he served on the faculties of economics of the University of California, Los Angeles, and Yale University. In 1981–82, Professor Kotlikoff was a Senior Economist with the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.

Professor Kotlikoff is author or co-author of 14 books and hundreds of professional journal articles. His most recent books are Jimmy Stewart is Dead (John Wiley and Sons), Spend ‘Til the End, (co-authored with Scott Burns, Simon & Schuster), The Healthcare Fix (MIT Press), and The Coming Generational Storm (co-authored with Scott Burns, MIT Press).

Professor Kotlikoff publishes extensively in newspapers and magazines on issues of financial reform, personal finance, taxes, Social Security, health care, deficits, generational accounting, pensions, saving, and insurance.

Professor Kotlikoff has served as a consultant to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Harvard Institute for International Development, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Swedish Ministry of Finance, the Norwegian Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Italy, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England, the Government of Russia, the Government of Ukraine, the Government of Bolivia, the Government of Bulgaria, the Treasury of New Zealand, the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the American Council of Life Insurance, Merrill Lynch, Fidelity Investments, AT&T, AON Corp., and other major U.S. corporations.

He has provided expert testimony on numerous occasions to committees of Congress including the Senate Finance Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, and the Joint Economic Committee.

Read about executive education

Cases

Where Critics of Tax Reform Go Wrong – Tax Policy Center’s models don’t simulate how the GOP plan would draw investment to the U.S.

October 17, 2017

The Wall Street Journal Laurence Kotlikoff The Republican framework for tax reform is taking considerable heat… Expert quote: “Following the trail back, we find that last year’s study relied on two closed-economy models that do not simulate the current, let alone the future, global capital market.” View full article

View full article

Trump Wants Credit for Cutting the National Debt. Economists Say Not So Fast

February 28, 2017

Bloomberg Laurence Kotlikoff, College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences “President Donald Trump asked on Twitter why the media hasn’t reported that the national debt has dropped since his inauguration…” Expert Quote: “Anything that has happened to the debt has been on autopilot since Obama left.” View full article. 

View full article

Bad Advice From A (Very) Good Economist

February 28, 2017

The Huffington Post Laurence Kotlikoff, College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences “On February 17, 2017, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 20,624. It is up 4.36 percent for so far in 2017…” Expert Quote: “Sell your stocks (and your long-term bonds, too) until the dust settles.” View full article. 

View full article

US election: Could Trump really cut the US $19tn debt in eight years?

April 7, 2016

BBC Laurence Kotlikoff, College of Arts & Sciences Donald Trump’s policy proposals have generated a lot of headlines over the course of his presidential campaign… Expert quote: “If he does what he proposes to do, in eight years the fiscal gap will be even bigger.” View full article

View full article

We’ve been measuring inequality wrong – here’s the real story

March 14, 2016

The Conversation US Co-written by Laurence Kotlikoff, College of Arts & Sciences Despite appearances to the contrary, this year’s presidential follies have managed to feature at least a few policy discussions amid all the name-calling… View full article by expert Laurence Kotlikoff

View full article

Could the American economy tank in 2016?

January 4, 2016

Politico Laurence Kotlikoff, College of Arts & Sciences 23 economic forecasts for the new year. Cc: 2016 candidates… Expert quote: “The country’s greatest economic risk resides in the financial markets as well as the general public A) learning precisely how broke the U.S. government is, B) realizing how much money the Federal Reserve has printed […]

View full article

Matchmaking Season for Republican Presidential Candidates and Economists

June 20, 2015

New York Times (subscription required) Laurence Kotlikoff, College of Arts & Sciences It’s the economists’ version of social networking… Expert quote: “The problem with politicians is that they hire economists who instantly become politicians.” View full article

View full article

Does Rubio have a spending problem?

May 21, 2015

Washington Post Laurence Kotlikoff, College of Arts & Sciences Marco Rubio made $174,000 as a U.S. senator last year… Expert quote: “It means that he is probably on some level living above his means, because he is borrowing against his future.” View full article

View full article

The Conversation US – Laurence Kotlikoff

April 10, 2015

Want worker wages to rise? End the corporate income tax Laurence J Kotlikoff, Boston University Workers’ wages have stagnated, even as the unemployment rate has plunged to a seven-year low and the economy is bounding ahead. Some people propose raising the federal minimum wage and bolstering labor unions to address slow growth in wages. One great way […]

View full article

Iceland has a radical plan to redefine money

April 3, 2015

Washington Post Laurence Kotlikoff, College of Arts & Sciences Icelandic officials are thinking about redefining money and ending banking as we know it, Agence France-Presse reports… Expert quote: “This is not going to do anything to deal with the reality of what happened in Iceland. What they’re doing is a substitute for real reform.” View full […]

View full article

Other experts

Matthew Vanderschuere

Degrees PhD, American University MPA, University of Colorado-Denver BA, United States Air Force Academy Bio Matthew Vanderschuere has a PhD in Public Administration from American University and an M.P.A. from the University of Colorado-Denver. His research interests include human resource mana...

William L Brooks

Background and Education William Brooks has been an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University since 2009, after retiring from the US Department of State. For 15 years, he served as head of the US Embassy in Japan’s media analysis and translation unit, responsible for analyzing the impact of J...

Alexander MacKay

Alexander MacKay is an assistant professor of business administration in the Strategy Unit. His research focuses on matters of competition, including pricing, demand, and market structure. Previously, he was a postdoctoral scholar at Harvard Business School and at Harvard Kennedy School. Profe...

Looking for an expert?

Contact us and we'll find the best option for you.

Something went wrong. We're trying to fix this error.