Leonard Burman

Paul Volcker Chair in Behavioral Economics
Institute Fellow, Urban Institute
Senior Research Associate, Center for Policy Research

Degree

Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1985

Specialties

Federal tax policy, budget policy, tax expenditures, the individual alternative minimum tax, the changing role of taxation in social policy.

Courses

Fall 2018

PAI 730.004 Problems in Public Administration, Tu 12:30-3:15, 309A Maxwell Hall

Biography

Len Burman is the Paul Volcker Chair of Behavioral Economics at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, an Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute, and a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Policy Research. He co-founded the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, in 2002. Len was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Analysis at the Treasury from 1998 to 2000 and Senior Analyst at the Congressional Budget Office from 1988 to 1997. Additionally, he is past-president of the National Tax Association (NTA) and 2016 recipient of the NTA’s Davie-Davis Award for Public Service. Burman is the co-author with Joel Slemrod of Taxes in America: What Everyone Needs to Know and author of The Labyrinth of Capital Gains Tax Policy: A Guide for the Perplexed, and co-editor of several books. He is often invited to testify before Congress and has written for scholarly journals as well as media outlets such as the Washington Post, New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Len received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Minnesota in 1985. Full Biography

Publications

Selected Papers

Selected Professional Activities

Board member, Commonwealth Institute 

Member, Scholars Strategy Network

Member, SOI Consultants Panel (IRS)

Professional Service

Past President, National Tax Association