Casey B. Mulligan

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] In January 2025, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to appoint Mulligan as Chief Counsel for Advocacy at the Small Business Administration.^[5]

Casey Mulligan
Academic background
Alma mater	Harvard University (BA) University of Chicago (PhD)
Academic work
Discipline	Economics
Institutions	University of Chicago Harvard University Clemson University
Chief Economist of the Council of Economic Advisers
In office September 8, 2018 – August 2019
President	Donald Trump

Education

After earning a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, Mulligan earned a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago in 1993.^[1][6] 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.^[7] He has written articles for RealClearPolitics, Newsweek, The Washington Times, and National Review.^[8] Mulligan also wrote for Economix, a New York Times blog.^[9]

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.^[10][11] Mulligan has argued that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") disincentivizes work.^[12][13] Mulligan opposes paid sick days, arguing that they lead workers to take sick days even when they are not sick.^[14][15]

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.^[16][17]