Lawrence H. Summers

Taxation is an enduring focus of economic policy debates. This book presents a series of policy options, authored by leading tax experts and backed by rigorous analysis, to increase federal revenue in ways that are both efficient and equitable. The policies include better tax enforcement, improved, corporate taxation, increased taxation of wealth, and taxes on some transactions. 

In the coming decades, federal spending will need to grow just to enable the government to continue to provide the services it does today. Natasha Sarin, Lawrence Summers, and Joe Kupferberg propose a suite of tax reforms that will raise revenue by broadening the tax base and strengthening tax enforcement. 

On January 28, The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution hosted a forum to explore how our nation’s tax code can most effectively provide for a strong government that promotes widespread economic well-being and reduced inequality.

In the years following the Great Recession, many economists and policymakers agreed that fiscal stimulus was critical to improving the faltering economy and helping to save or create millions of jobs. There is less agreement, however, on whether the stimulus should have been larger, if it contained the correct mix of tax cuts and targeted government spending, and whether it optimally utilized income support programs—notably TANF and SNAP—to stabilize the economy and protect millions of households from falling into poverty. On May 23, The Hamilton Project at Brookings hosted a policy forum addressing how to make better use of fiscal stimulus in future downturns, with a focus on three new Hamilton Project papers.

Scholars and public commentators have recently debated the impact of education on earnings and earnings inequality. Some have argued that improving education is not the sole solution to inequality. Brad Hershbein, Melissa Kearney and Lawrence H. Summers clarify the different elements of the public debate and respond to a contending essay from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

Scholars and public commentators have recently debated the impact of education on earnings and earnings inequality. Some have argued that improving education is not the sole solution to inequality. In this economic analysis, Brad Hershbein, Melissa Kearney and Lawrence H. Summers clarify the different elements of the public debate and note explicitly that these positions are not necessarily at odds.

Fiscal issues will rapidly come to the fore next fall as the federal government faces the looming expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts, the onset of the deficit “trigger,” and another debate on the debt limit. Across the political spectrum, one of the few points on which today’s policymakers can agree is that the tax code is in desperate need of reform. On May 3, The Hamilton Project hosted a policy forum on the economic context for tax reform and the economic criteria that should be used when evaluating tax reform options.

What new breakthrough sciences and technologies are next on the horizon for the U.S. economy, and what role can policy play in creating a positive environment to promote innovative developments? On June 28, The Hamilton Project at Brookings hosted a forum on the future of innovation in the United States which explored the challenges to, and opportunities for, furthering advancements to create jobs and spur economic growth.

The Hamilton Project partnered with the Center for American Progress to host a forum on the country’s employment situation. The event featured a discussion with New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and NEC director Lawrence H. Summers, moderated by PBS host Charlie Rose.

The Project released new discussion papers and hosted panel discussions on housing and credit markets. The first panel explored ways to reform low-income housing assistance, while the second focused on innovative mortgage ideas to help protect consumers.

Governor Tim Kaine joined Robert E. Rubin and Lawrence H. Summers in the opening session of a Hamilton Project public forum on the need for a national strategy that promotes infrastructure as a central component of long-term, broadly shared growth.

Together with the Commission on Growth & Development, The Hamilton Project hosted a policy roundtable on the role of economic growth in reducing poverty in developing nations. A panel of experts discussed policies to help developing nations move forward in this era of global uncertainty.