UChicago Harris Professor Tomas J. Philipson Tapped to Lead White House Council of Economic Advisers

Tomas J. Philipson, the Daniel Levin Professor of Public Policy at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, has been appointed by President Donald J. Trump to lead the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), a group of economists who advise the President of the United States on a wide range of economic policies. 

On leave from the University of Chicago, Philipson has worked as a member of the CEA in the Trump White House for nearly two years, and previously served in the George W. Bush administration, among other public sector positions. He will replace outgoing CEA chair Kevin Hassett.  

“Tomas Philipson is one of the world’s preeminent health economists and an outstanding choice to lead the CEA, where he will bring to bear a strong commitment to informing effective policy based on evidence,” said Katherine Baicker, dean and Emmett Dedmon Professor, Harris Public Policy, and a former member of the CEA herself from 2005 to 2007.

Philipson has taught at UChicago since 1990, where he specializes in public policy, health economics, and microeconomics.  In addition to his appointment at Harris, Philipson directs the Becker Friedman Institute’s Program on Foundational Research in Health Care Markets and Policies within the Health Economics Initiative.  He is also an associate member of the Department of Economics and a former senior lecturer at the Law School. 

He received his MA and PhD in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been a visiting faculty member at Yale University and a visiting senior fellow at the World Bank.

Philipson also serves as a fellow, board member, or associate with a number of other organizations outside the University of Chicago, including the National Bureau of Economic Research, the American Enterprise Institute, the Manhattan Institute (where he was chairperson of Project FDA), the Heartland Institute, the Milken Institute, the RAND Corporation, and the USC Shaeffer Center for Health Economics and Policy.