Eric M. Engen is a resident scholar at AEI, where his research focuses on tax and budget policy, Social Security, household saving behavior, financial markets, and the macro economy. Mr. Engen is currently working on a book titled Social Security Reform: Sorting out the Sense from the Nonsense. He is the author or coauthor of many academic articles that have been published in the American Economic Review, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Federal Reserve Bulletin, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Journal of Monetary Economics, National Tax Journal, and Tax Notes. Before joining AEI, Mr. Engen was a section chief and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. He also was an assistant professor in the Department of Economics at the University of California at Los Angeles and a faculty research fellow with the National Bureau of Economic Research. Mr. Engen received the National Tax Association’s Doctoral Dissertation Award in Government Finance and Taxation in 1992.

Kevin A. Hassett is director of economic policy studies and resident scholar at AEI. Before joining AEI, Mr. Hassett was a senior economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and an associate professor of economics and finance at the Graduate School of Business of Columbia University. He has also served as a policy consultant to the U.S. Department of the Treasury during both the former Bush and Clinton administrations. Mr. Hassett is a member of the Joint Committee on Taxation’s Dynamic Scoring Advisory Panel. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of six books on economics and economic policy. He has published scholarly articles in the American Economic Review, the Economic Journal, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Public Economics, and many other professional journals. His popular writings have been published in the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic Monthly, USA Today, and numerous other outlets.

Desmond Lachman is AEI’s newest resident scholar, whose research focuses on major emerging market economies and on the role of the multilateral lending institutions. Before AEI, Mr. Lachman was a managing director at Salomon Smith Barney’s and chief emerging market economic strategist. He made key calls on emerging market economies in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Mr. Lachman was also head of emerging market economic research at Salomon Brothers and deputy director in policy development and review department at the International Monetary Fund.

John H. Makin is a resident scholar and director of fiscal policy studies at AEI and a principal at Caxton Associates, L.L.C. in New York City, a major investor in foreign exchange, commodity, and currency markets. Before joining both AEI and Caxton, Mr. Makin was director of the Institute for Economic Research and professor of economics at the University of Washington in Seattle. He has served as a consultant to the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve System, the International Monetary Fund, the Bank of Japan, and numerous leading corporations. He was a member of the panel of Economic Advisers of the Congressional Budget Office. From 1988 to 1992, Mr. Makin served as chairman of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission, which administers $4.5 million in research grants on Japanese-American policy research and cultural exchange. He testifies frequently before both Houses of Congress on issues such as international competitiveness, trade, tax, and budget policy. Mr. Makin is coauthor of Debt and Taxes: How America Got into Its Budget Mess and What to Do about It (1994) and has written or edited more than a dozen books on a wide range of economic subjects.

David Malpass is Bear Stearns’ chief global economist and is a senior managing director. He writes economic and financial studies and discusses financial market conditions with institutional investors. His duties include economic forecasts for the U.S. and major foreign economies, Washington analysis, and global investment themes. Mr. Malpass is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal and a frequent public speaker and television guest. He is a member of the Economic Club of New York and the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on the board of the Council of the Americas. He is a member of the Congressional Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Dynamic Scoring. Between February 1984 and January 1993, Mr. Malpass held a series of economic appointments during the Reagan and Bush administrations, including six years with Secretary James Baker at the Treasury and State Departments. He was also Republican staff director of Congress’s Joint Economic Committee and senior analyst for taxes and trade at the Senate Budget Committee. In his government positions, Mr. Malpass worked on an array of economic, budget and international issues, including the 1986 tax cut, several congressional budget resolutions, the Gramm-Rudman budget law, the savings and loan bailout, NAFTA, the Brady plan for developing country debt, and fast-track trade authority. He was a member of the government’s Senior Executive Service and testified frequently before Congress.