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Donald Marron
Institute Fellow
Director, Economic Policy Initiatives
Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center
  • Profile
  • Outside Affiliations
  • Donald Marron is an Institute fellow and director of economic policy initiatives at the Urban Institute. He conducts research on tax and budget policy and identifies opportunities for Urban to develop policy-relevant research on economic and financial issues. From 2010 to 2013, he led the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

    Before joining Urban, Marron served in senior government positions, including as a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers and acting director of the Congressional Budget Office. He has also taught at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, and the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, consulted on major antitrust cases, and been chief financial officer of a health care software start-up.

    Marron has broad experience in economic policy issues, including America's fiscal challenges, tax reform, energy and environment, and the financial crisis. He has testified frequently before Congress, appears often at conferences and in the media to discuss economic policy, and works to popularize economics through his blog and writings. He is the editor of 30-Second Economics, which introduces readers to 50 of the most important ideas in economics, and 30-Second Money, which does the same for finance.

    Marron currently serves on the boards of FairVote, Pomona College, and the Concord Coalition, advises Fair Observer and YieldStreet, and is a senior research fellow at the Climate Leadership Council. He studied mathematics at Harvard College and received his PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    Research Areas
    Economic mobility and inequality
    Climate change, disasters, and community resilience
    Taxes and budgets
    State and local finance
    Tags
    Fiscal policy
    Inequality and mobility
    Finance
    Small businesses


    Outside Affiliations
    Pomona College
    Former Board Member
    FairVote
    Board Member
    Concord Coalition
    Board Member
    Climate Leadership Council
    Senior Research Fellow
    Fair Observer
    Board of Advisors
    Marron Economics LLC
    President
    Body

    Urban experts are permitted and empowered to work and affiliate with outside organizations, whether serving on boards, volunteering their time, or providing advice and counsel. And Urban welcomes visiting scholars, nonresident or affiliated fellows who work for other organizations. These outside affiliations enrich our perspectives and our learning environment. We also require all paid and unpaid experts to disclose their affiliations to Urban leadership and follow rules governing their engagement to ensure transparency for audiences and independence of experts.