Casey B. Mulligan
American economist and author
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Casey B. Mulligan is an American economist and author. He is a professor in economics at the University of Chicago.[1] He served as chief economist for the Council of Economic Advisers in the Trump Administration from September 6, 2018, to August 2019.[2][3][4] Mulligan also served as Chief Counsel for Advocacy at the Small Business Administration from August 5, 2025 until April 2026 under the second Trump Administration.[5][6] In April 2026, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed Mulligan as the Chief Economist and Regulatory Officer at the Department of Health and Human Services.[7]
Casey Mulligan | |
|---|---|
| |
| Chief Economist and Regulatory Officer of the United States Department of Health and Human Services | |
| Assumed office April 17, 2026 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Personal details | |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (BA) University of Chicago (PhD) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Economics |
| Institutions | University of Chicago Harvard University Clemson University |
Education
After earning a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, Mulligan earned a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago in 1993.[1][8] After completing his PhD, he became a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Chicago before starting a tenure-track in 1994.[1]
Career
Mulligan has worked as a visiting professor at Harvard University, Clemson University, and the Harris School of Public Policy Studies.[9] He has written articles for RealClearPolitics, Newsweek, The Washington Times, and National Review.[10] Mulligan also wrote for Economix, a New York Times blog.[11]
In 2012, Mulligan published The Redistribution Recession which argued that social welfare programs such as food stamps and unemployment benefits during the Great Recession disincentivized work and thus prolonged the recession.[12][13] Mulligan has argued that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") disincentivizes work.[14][15] Mulligan opposes paid sick days, arguing that they lead workers to take sick days even when they are not sick.[16][17]
In 2020, he published You’re Hired!: Untold Successes and Failures of a Populist President, which praises President Trump's skills and his administration's policies. With Trump economic advisor Kevin Hassett, he co-authored an analysis of Biden's economic program during the 2020 presidential election.[18][19]