F&D Magazine

Karen Dynan on Regaining Lost Ground in Policy Influence

KAREN DYNAN

July 24, 2025

Photo Courtesy of Karen Dynan

In This Episode

There was a time when economic expertise ruled policy debates at virtually all levels of government. And while trade, taxation, and other important policies are still guided by economic analysis, economists increasingly feel sidelined by politics. In her former roles as chief economist at the US Treasury Department and senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Harvard professor Karen Dynan has seen too much solid economic research be rejected due to overly dense presentations. In this podcast, Dynan says economists need to engage with policymakers and the public at a level that they can understand if they want to be part of the policy conversation. Transcript

Read the article in Finance & Development magazine

KAREN DYNAN is a professor of the practice of economic policy at Harvard University and a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics. She was assistant secretary for economic policy and chief economist at the US Treasury Department from 2014 to 2017. 

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