Linda Bilmes

Professor Linda J. Bilmes, the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, is a leading expert on budgetary and public financial issues. Her research focuses on budgeting and public administration in the public, private and non-profit sectors. She is particularly interested in the costs of war, veterans, the civil service and public lands. She is a full-time Harvard faculty member, teaching budgeting, cost accounting and public finance, and teaching workshops for newly-elected Mayors and Members of Congress. Since 2005, she has led the Greater Boston Applied Field Lab, an advanced course in which teams of student volunteers assist local communities in public finance and operations. Bilmes was twice confirmed by the US Senate, serving as Assistant Secretary and Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Department of Commerce under President Bill Clinton. She is currently a Presidential appointee on the US Department of Interior National Park System Advisory Board. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University and Economists for Peace and Security.

Professor Bilmes has authored or co-authored numerous books, book chapters, articles and opinion pieces, and has testified to Congress on numerous occasions. Her books include the New York Times bestseller The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict (with Joseph E. Stiglitz) and The People Factor: Strengthening America by Investing in Public Service (with W. Scott Gould). She has published in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, Harvard Business Review and WBUR's Cognoscenti, and she appears regularly on national television and radio programs, including "All Things Considered", "On Point", "To the Point" and "Marketplace". Bilmes was featured in the Academy-award nominated documentary "No End in Sight." She is the recipient of the 2008 "Speaking Truth to Power" Award by the American Friends Service Committee. Bilmes previously worked in London, Madrid and Moscow with the Boston Consulting Group. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. She holds a BA and MBA from Harvard University and has also taught and studied at Oxford University.

Publications

• Bilmes, Linda. "Soldiers Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan: The Long-term Costs of Providing Veterans Medical Care and Disability Benefits." KSG Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP07-001, January 2007.

Academic Journal/Scholarly Articles

• Bilmes, Linda J. "Federalist Nos. 67-77: How Would Publius Envision the Civil Service Today?" Public Administration Review 71.Supplement 1 (December 2011): S105-S111.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "Highlights from The People Factor: Strengthening America by Investing in Public Service." Institute of Public Governance & Management 24 (October 2011).

Books

• Bilmes, Linda J., and W. Scott Gould. The People Factor: Strengthening America By Investing in Public Service. Brookings Institution Press, 2009.
• Stiglitz, Joseph E., and Linda J. Bilmes. The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict. W.W. Norton, 2008.

Book Chapters

• Stiglitz, Joseph E., and Linda J. Bilmes. "Estimating the Costs of War: Methodological Issues, with Applications to Iraq and Afghanistan." Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Peace and Conflict. Ed. Michelle R. Garfinkel and Stergios Skaperdas. Oxford University Press, 2012.
• Bilmes, Linda J., and Joseph E. Stiglitz. "The Long-term Costs of Conflict: The Case of the Iraq War." Handbook on the Economics of Conflict. Ed. Derek L. Braddon and Keith Hartley. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011, 293-311.
• Stiglitz, Joseph, and Linda Bilmes. "Hidden Wounds and Accounting Tricks: Disguising the True Costs." Lessons From Iraq: Avoiding the Next War. Ed. Miriam Pemberton and William D. Hartung. Penguin Publishers, 2008, 48-64.
• Bilmes, Linda, and Jeffrey Neal. "The People Factor: Human Resources Reform in Government." For the People: Can We Fix Public Service? Ed. John D. Donahue and Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Brookings Institution, 2003.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Scoring Goals for People and Company." Mastering People Management: Your Single-Source Guide to Becoming a Master of People Management. Ed. James Pickford. FT Prentice Hall, 2003.

HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series

• White, Laura, Jean-Louis Rochet, Pete Mathias, Kate O’Gorman, and Linda J. Bilmes. "Connecting the Northeast: A Cost Estimate for the North South Rail Link." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP17-032, August 2017.
• Haefele, Michelle, John Loomis, and Linda J. Bilmes. "Total Economic Valuation of the National Park Service Lands and Programs: Results of a Survey of The American Public." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP16-024, June 2016.
• duPont, Carolyn M., James N. Levitt, and Linda J. Bilmes. "Green Bonds and Land Conservation: The Evolution of a New Financing Tool." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP15-072, December 2015.
• Banasiak, Adam, Linda J. Bilmes, and John Loomis. "Carbon Sequestration in the U.S. National Parks: A Value Beyond Visitation." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP15-007, February 2015.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "The Financial Legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan: How Wartime Spending Decisions Will Constrain Future National Security Budgets." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP13-006, March 2013.
• Bilmes, Linda, and Joseph E. Stiglitz. "The Economic Costs of the Iraq War: An Appraisal Three Years after the Beginning of the Conflict." KSG Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP06-002, January 2006.

Research Papers/Reports

• Bilmes, Linda J. "Eisenhower Study Group on the Costs of War." Watson Institute for International Studies, June 13, 2011.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "The Fiscal Crisis in State Government – And What Should be Done About It." Next Social Contract Policy Paper, New America Foundation, June 2010.
• Bilmes, Linda. "The Economics of Neurological Combat Injuries." Conference paper for the American Neurological Association Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, September 21-24, 2008.
• Bilmes, Linda. "The Three Trillion Dollar War." Presentation to the Council on Foreign Relations, March 2008.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Activity-Based Budgeting for Massachusetts." Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston PB-2006-4, September 2006.

Public Testimony

• Bilmes, Linda J. "Testimony in Support of a National Veterans' Trust Fund." Veterans Affairs Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, September 18, 2013.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "The Growing Costs of the Iraq War." Testimony to the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, October 24, 2007.
• Bilmes, Linda J. Testimony to the Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and Agency Organization, Committee on Government Reform, US House of Representatives, October 3, 2005.

Commentary

• Bilmes, Linda J. "Giving Margaret Thatcher The Feminist Cred She Deserves — And Would Have Hated." WBUR Cognoscenti, April 17, 2013.
• Stiglitz, Joseph, and Linda J. Bilmes. "There Will Be No Peace Dividend After Afghanistan." Financial Times, January 24, 2013.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "Three Ways To Avoid Future ‘Fiscal Cliffs’." WBUR, November 26, 2012.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "The Truth Behind the Ryan Budget." WBUR, September 19, 2012.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "Afghanistan is Missing from the Campaign." Boston Globe, July 15, 2012.
• Bilmes, Linda J., and Shelby Chodos. "Want to Stimulate the Economy? Let’s Hand Cash Directly to the States." Washington Post, June 29, 2012.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "And Now, Battles with Hardly Any Rules." Boston Globe, February 5, 2012.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "As Iraq War Winds Down, the Conflict Offers Expensive Lessons." Boston Globe, December 7, 2011.
• Bilmes, Linda J., and Joseph E. Stiglitz. "America's Costly War Machine." Los Angeles Times, September 18, 2011.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "US Response to 9/11 Contributed to Causes of Current Debt Crisis." Christian Science Monitor, September 9, 2011.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "What the U.S. Government Can Learn from Business." Harvard Business Review, July 29, 2011.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "Costly Inheritance." Boston Globe, April 27, 2011.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "U.S. Budget Woes More Than Just a Math Problem." Los Angeles Times, December 13, 2010.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "U.S. Budget Woes More Than Just a Math Problem." Los Angeles Times, December 13, 2010.
• Stiglitz, Joseph E., and Linda J. Bilmes. "The True Cost of the Iraq War: $3 Trillion and Beyond." Washington Post, September 5, 2010.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "Iraq War Winds Down, but Costs Soar." San Francisco Chronicle, August 15, 2010.
• Bilmes, Linda J., and Max Stier. "Freeze on Federal Jobs Won’t Reduce Spending." Boston Globe, February 10, 2010.
• Bilmes, Linda J. "The Cost of Not Enacting Health Care Reform." Boston Globe, November 7, 2009.
• Bilmes, Linda J., and Joseph Stiglitz. "The U.S. in Iraq: An Economics Lesson." Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2009.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Help Wanted in Public Service." Boston Globe, April 15, 2009.
• Bilmes, Linda. "As Creditors Get Edgy, US Keeps Spending." Boston Globe, November 9, 2008.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Is This Any Way to Rebuild Iraq?" Los Angeles Times, August 15, 2008.
• Stiglitz, Joseph, and Linda Bilmes. ""$3 Trillion May Be Too Low."." The Guardian (U.K.), April 6, 2008.
• Stiglitz, Joseph E., and Linda Bilmes. "There is No Such Thing as a War for Free." Chicago Tribune, March 20, 2008.
• Bilmes, Linda. ""The Cost of War."." Harvard Crimson, March 19, 2008.
• Bilmes, Linda, and Joseph Stiglitz. "The High Cost of Fighting a Losing Battle." Financial Times, March 18, 2008.
• Bilmes, Linda, and Joseph Stiglitz. "War's Price Tag." Los Angeles Times, March 16, 2008.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Another Year, Another $300 Billion." Boston Globe, March 16, 2008.
• Bilmes, Linda, and Joseph E. Stiglitz. ""The Iraq War Will Cost Us $3 Trillion, and Much More."." Washington Post, March 9, 2008.
• Stiglitz, Joseph, and Linda Bilmes. "The Three Trillion Dollar War: The Cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts have Grown to Staggering Proportions." The Times of London, February 23, 2008.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Soldiers Trapped in Limbo." Boston Globe, March 21, 2007.
• Bilmes, Linda. "The Battle of Iraq's Wounded." Los Angeles Times, January 5, 2007.
• Bilmes, Linda, and Joseph Stiglitz. "War's Stunning Price Tag." Los Angeles Times, January 17, 2006.
• Bilmes, Linda, and W. Scott Gould. "Getting the Federal Workers We Need." Washington Post, August 31, 2005.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Uncle Sam Really Wants Usted." Los Angeles Times, August 21, 2005.
• Bilmes, Linda. "The Trillion-Dollar War." New York Times, August 20, 2005.
• Bilmes, Linda. "A Budget in Bush's Own Image." Financial Times, February 8, 2005.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Civil Service Has Morphed Into U.S. Inc." Los Angeles Times, July 18, 2004.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Bush's Gamble on the Afghan Front." Financial Times, March 30, 2004.
• Bilmes, Linda. "The Truth About the Reagan Deficits." Washington Post, February 10, 2004.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Bush Joins the Donor Big League." Financial Times, December 3, 2003.
• Bilmes, Linda. "A Poor Start for Bush's AIDS Programme." Financial Times, July 7, 2003.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Bush's Future Is in Blair's Hands." Financial Times, March 6, 2003.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Scoring Goals for People and Company." Financial Times, November 26, 2001.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Wise Tending in the Jobs Garden." Financial Times, November 26, 2001.

Magazine and Newspaper Articles

• Bilmes, Linda J. "Investing in the People Who Make Government Work." Federal Manager. Summer 2009.
• Stiglitz, Joseph E., and Linda J. Bilmes. "The $10 Trillion Hangover." Harper's Magazine. January 2009.
• Stiglitz, Joseph E., and Linda Bilmes. ""The $3 Trillion War."." Vanity Fair. April 2008.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Iraq's 100-Year Mortgage." Foreign Policy. March/April 2008.
• Bilmes, Linda, and Joseph E. Stiglitz. "Encore: Iraq Hemorrhage." Milken Institute Review (December 2006): 76-83.
• Bilmes, Linda and Joseph Stiglitz. "The Economic Cost of Iraq War." Milken Institute, 4th Quarter. October 2006.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Ask This: Total Economic Cost of the War in Iraq." Nieman Watchdog. September 2006.
• Bilmes, Linda and W. Scott Gould. "New Book Looks at What College Students are Thinking about Government Jobs." Federal Manager Magazine. April 2006.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Disasters and the Deficit." Atlantic Monthly December 2005.
• Bilmes, Linda. "Disasters and Deficit." Atlantic Monthly. December 2005.

Outside Professional Activities

Transparent Engagement

Harvard Kennedy School is proud of its energetic involvement in the world. To better understand how to solve public problems by improving policy and leadership, we engage directly with policymakers, public leaders, governments, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit businesses whose activities affect those problems. However, we recognize that such engagement can raise questions about perceived and potential conflicts of interest, so we disclose publicly the key professional activities of our faculty outside the Kennedy School.

Outside Professional Activities For Linda Bilmes

1. Organization Name:

US Department of Defense, Joint Task Force, National Capital Region - Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, (IAP)

Sector: National Military Medicine - providing medical care to wounded warriors and service members and families

Specific Role: Writing a case study on the consolidation of Walter Reed National Army Hospital and Bethesda Naval Hospital (historical consultant)

Dates of relationship: Beginning May 2012 through present

1. NAME:

US Department of Interior National Parks Service Advisory Board

SECTOR: US Federal Government

Specific Role: Serve on 12-person official advisory board to the US National Parks Service (appointed to consecutive 4-year term by the US Secretary of the Interior)

Dates: 2010 -present

1. NAME: US Department of Labor Advisory Committee on Veterans Training, Employment and Outreach

Sector: US Federal government, veterans

Specific role: Serve on advisory committee to US Department of Labor Office of Veterans Affairs, related to employment and training for military veterans (appointed by Secretary of Labor)

Dates: 2011 -present

1. GRANTS/ OUTSIDE INCOME

• Turner Foundation (PI on grant for national parks research)
• Bechtel Foundation (PI on grant for national parks research)
• National Parks Foundation (PI on grant for national parks research)
• Oxford University Blavatnik School of Government (teaching a course)
• Brookings Institution (book royalties)
• Norton Publishers (book royalties)
• Boston Globe (regular contributor)
• Cognoscenti (WBUR) regular contributor

1. UNPAID ADVISORY ROLES:

I am involved in an advisory capacity or board member of the following organizations:

• Economists for Peace and Security (board member)
• City of Newton, MA (advisor)
• City of Boston (advisor)
• City of Somerville, MA (advisor)
• Commission on Devolution in Wales (advisor)
• US Department of Veterans Affairs (advisory committee on policy)
• LAM Foundation (charity)
• National Academy of Public Administration
• Council on Foreign Relations