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David A. Weisbach

Academic Faculty

Full Time Teaching Faculty

David A. Weisbach

Walter J. Blum Professor of Law

Biography

David Weisbach received his BS in Mathematics from the University of Michigan in 1985; a Masters in Advance Study (Mathematics) from Wolfson College, Cambridge in 1986; and a JD from Harvard Law School in 1989. After graduating from law school, Weisbach clerked for Judge Joel M. Flaum of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and worked as an associate in the law firm of Miller & Chevalier. In 1992, Weisbach joined the Department of Treasury where he worked as an attorney-advisor in the Office of the Tax Legislative Counsel and, subsequently, as associate tax legislative counsel. In 1996, Weisbach was appointed Associate Professor of Law at Georgetown Law Center and joined the Chicago faculty in 1998. He is also a Senior Fellow at the University of Chicago Computation Institute and Argonne National Laboratories and an International Research Fellow at the Saïd School of Business, Oxford University. Weisbach is primarily interested in issues relating to federal taxation and to climate change.

Education and Experience

Education

Harvard Law School

JD, magna cum laude, 1989
John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics
Harvard Legal Aid Bureau

Yale Law School

Special Student, 1988-1989

Cambridge University, Wolfson College

Masters for Advanced Studies in mathematics, 1986

University of Michigan

BS in mathematics with high distinction, 1985
Phi Beta Kappa

Experience

The University of Chicago Law School

Walter J. Blum Professor of Law, 2004-present
Senior Fellow, The University of Chicago Computation Institute and Argonne National Laboratories, 2011-2018
Kearney Director, Program in Law and Economics, July 2001-2011

Oxford Centre for Business Taxation

International Research Fellow, 2006-present

American Enterprise Institute

Visiting Scholar, 2007-2015

Yale Law School

Maurice R. Greenberg Visiting Professor of Law, fall 2009

Georgetown University Law Center

Associate Professor of Law, 1996-1998

Office of Tax Policy, United States Department of the Treasury

Associate Tax Legislative Counsel, 1995-1996
Attorney Advisor, Office of the Tax Legislative Counsel, 1992-1995

Miller & Chevalier

Associate, Washington, DC, 1990-1992

The Honorable Joel M. Flaum, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Judicial Clerk, Chicago, IL, 1989-1990

Publications

Books (Author)

  • Debating Climate Ethics (Oxford University Press, 2016) (with Stephen Gardiner).cu www
  • Climate Change Justice (Princeton University Press, 2010) (with Eric A. Posner).cu
  • Tax Treatment of Contingent Debt (Practicing Law Institute, 2000).cu

Books (Editor)

  • Economics of Tax Law. (Edward Elgar, 2008). cu

Journal Articles

  • "Point: Does More Procedure Produce Better Guidance?," 43 ABA Tax Times 20 (2024).
  • "The Additionality Double Standard," 48 Harvard Environmental Law Review 117 (2024) (with James Salzman). www
  • "Against Anti-Tax Exceptionalism," 77 Tax Law Review __ (2024) (forthcoming). ssrn
  • "Review of Daniel Farber, Inequality and Regulation: Designing Rules to Address Race, Poverty, and Environmental Justice," 2023 American Journal of Law and Equality 150 (2023). ssrn www
  • "Literature Review: Taxing Profit in a Global Economy, Michael P. Devereux, Alan J. Auerbach, Michael Keen, Paul Oosterhuis, Wolfgang Schön, and John Vella (editors), Oxford University Press, 2020," 51 Intertax 536 (2023). www
  • "Climate Change Policy in the International Context: Solving the Carbon Leakage Problem," 31 New York University Environmental Law Journal 1 (2023) (with Sam Kortum).
  • "Regulatory Trading," 90 University of Chicago Law Review 1095 (2023). ssrn www
  • "Trade, Leakage, and the Design of a Carbon Tax," 4 Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy 43 (2023) (with Sam Kortum, Michael Wang & Yujia Yao). ssrn www
  • "A Two-Step Carbon Pricing Scheme Enabling a Net-Zero and Net-Negative CO2-Emissions World," 171 Climatic Change 18 (2022) (with Viola Becattini, Paolo Gabrielli, Linda Frattini & Marco Mazzotti). www
  • "The Legal Envelope Theorem," 102 Boston University Law Review 449 (2022) (with Daniel Hemel).
  • "The Behavioral Elasticity of Tax Revenue," 13 Journal of Legal Analysis 381 (2021) (with Daniel Hemel). www
  • "Debating Debating Climate Ethics," 24 Ethics, Policy & Environment 112 (2021). www
  • "Financial Services Under A Consumption Tax: Grubert and Mackie (2000) Revisited," 72 National Tax Journal 237 (2019). cu
  • "The Marginal Revenue Rule in Cost-Benefit Analysis," 160 Tax Notes 1507 (2018) (with Daniel Hemel & Jennifer Nou). ssrn cu
  • "New Equity Integration," 71 Tax Law Review 1 (2017). cu
  • "Capital Gains Taxation and Corporate Investment," 70 National Tax Journal 621 (2017). cu
  • "Should the United States Prefer a Cash Flow Tax to a VAT?," 155 Tax Notes 1559 (2017). cu
  • "The Design of Border Adjustments for Carbon Prices," 72 National Tax Journal 421 (2017) (with Sam Kortum). cu
  • "A Guide to the GOP Tax Plan – The Way to a Better Way," 8 Columbia Journal of Tax Law 171 (2017). cu
  • "Two Theories of Responsibility for Past Emissions of Carbon Dioxide," 40 Midwest Studies in Philosophy 96 (2016) (with Michelle Hayner). cu
  • "The Use of Neutralities in International Tax Policy," 68 National Tax Journal 635 (2015). cu
  • "Introduction: Legal Decision Making Under Deep Uncertainty," 44 Journal of Legal Studies S319 (2015). cu
  • "Distributionally Weighted Cost–Benefit Analysis: Welfare Economics Meets Organizational Design," 7 Journal of Legal Analysis 151 (2015). cu www
  • "Climate Impacts on Economic Growth as Drivers of Uncertainty in the Social Cost of Carbon," 43 Journal of Legal Studies 401 (2014) (with Elisabeth Moyer & Mark D. Woolley & Nathan J. Matteson & Michael J. Glotter ). cu
  • "Rules and Standards When Compliance Costs Are Private Information," 43 Journal of Legal Studies S297 (2014) (with Maciej H. Kotowski & Richard Zeckhauser). cu
  • "Audits as Signals," 81 University of Chicago Law Review 179 (2014). cu
  • "Attributes of Ownership," 67 Tax Law Review 249 (2014) (with Reid Thompson). ssrn cu
  • "Is Knowledge Of The Tax Law Socially Desirable?," 15 American Law and Economics Review 187 (2013). cu
  • "Unilateral Carbon Taxes, Border Tax Adjustments, and Carbon Leakage," 14 Theoretical Inquiries in Law 207 (2013) (with Joshua Elliott, Ian Foster, Sam Kortum & Todd Munson) (Other authors: Gita Kuhn Jush and Todd Munson). cu
  • "Designing Subsidies for Low-Carbon Energy," 20 Journal of Environmental and Sustainablility Law 1 (2013). cu
  • "International Paretianism: A Defense," 13 Chicago Journal of International Law 347 (2013) (with Eric A. Posner). cu
  • "Should Environmental Taxes Be Precautionary?," 65 National Tax Journal 453 (2012). cu
  • "Negligence, Strict Liability, and Responsibility for Climate Change," 97 Iowa Law Review 521 (2012). cu
  • "Carbon Taxation in the EU: Expanding the EU Carbon Price," 24 Journal of Environmental Law 183 (2012). cu
  • "Linking Policies When Tastes Differ: Global Climate Policy in a Heterogeneous World," 6 Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 110 (2012) (with Gilbert E. Metcalf). cu
  • "Discount Rates, Social Judgments, Individuals' Risk Preferences, and Uncertainty," 42 Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 125 (2011) (with Louis Kaplow). ssrn cu
  • "A Critical Look at a Critical Look – Reply To Sanchirico," 64 Tax Law Review 201 (2011) (with Joseph Bankman). ssrn cu
  • "Trade and Carbon Taxes," 100 American Economic Review 465 (2010). cu
  • "The Social Evaluation of Intergenerational Policies and Its Application to Integrated Assessment Models of Climate Change," 10 BE Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy Article 7 (2010) (with Louis Kaplow & Elisabeth Moyer). ssrn cu
  • "Toward a New Approach to Disability Law," 2009 University of Chicago Legal Forum 47 (2009). cu
  • "Climate Change and Discounting the Future: A Guide for the Perplexed," 27 Yale Law and Policy Review 433 (2009) (with Cass R. Sunstein). cu
  • "The Design of a Carbon Tax," 33 Harvard Environmental Law Review 499 (2009) (with Gilbert E. Metcalf). cu
  • "What Does Happiness Research Tell Us about Taxation?," 37 Journal of Legal Studies S293 (2008). cu
  • "The Taxation of Carried Interests in Private Equity," 94 Virginia Law Review 715 (2008). ssrn cu
  • "Consumption Taxation Is Still Superior to Income Taxation," 60 Stanford Law Review 789 (2007) (with Joseph Bankman). cu
  • "Disrupting the Market for Tax Planning," 26 Virginia Tax Review 971 (2007). cu
  • "Professor Says Carried Interest Legislation Is Misguided," 116 Tax Notes 505 (2007). cu
  • "Symposium on Intergenerational Equity and Discounting," 74 University of Chicago Law Review 1 (2007) (with Cass R. Sunstein). cu
  • "Introduction," 74 University of Chicago Law Review 1 (2007) (with Cass R. Sunstein). cu
  • "The Irreducible Complexity of Firm-Level Income Taxes: Theory and Doctrine in the Corporate Tax," 60 Tax Law Review 215 (2007). cu
  • "Paretian Intergenerational Discounting," 74 University of Chicago Law Review 145 (2007) (with Dexter Samida). cu
  • "A Legal Perspective on Unanswered Questions in Tax Research," 29 Journal of the American Taxation Association 107 (2007) (with George Plesko). cu
  • "The Superiority of an Ideal Consumption Tax over an Ideal Income Tax," 58 Stanford Law Review 1413 (2006) (with Joseph Bankman). cu
  • "Tax Expenditures, Principal-Agent Problems, and Redundancy," 84 Washington University Law Review 1823 (2006). cu
  • "Two Cheers for the Flat Tax," 37 Tax Notes International 991 (2005). cu
  • "The Integration of Tax and Spending Programs," 113 Yale Law Journal 955 (2004) (with Jacob Nussim). ssrn cu
  • "Measurement and Tax Depreciation Policy: The Case of Short-Term Intangibles," 33 Journal of Legal Studies 199 (2004). cu
  • "The (Non)Taxation of Risk," 58 Tax Law Review 1 (2004). ssrn cu
  • "Taxation and Risk-Taking with Multiple Tax Rates," 57 National Tax Journal 229 (2004). cu
  • "Does the X-Tax Mark the Spot?," 56 SMU Law Review 201 (2003). ssrn cu
  • "Should Legal Rules Be Used to Redistribute Income?," 70 University of Chicago Law Review 439 (2003). cu
  • "Ten Truths about Tax Shelters," 55 Tax Law Review 215 (2002). ssrn cu
  • "An Efficiency Analysis of Line Drawing in Tax Law," 29 Journal of Legal Studies 71 (2002). ssrn cu
  • "The Fifth Circuit Gets It Wrong in Compaq v. Commissioner," 94 Tax Notes 511 (2002). ssrn cu
  • "An Economic Analysis of Anti-Tax-Avoidance Doctrines," 4 American Law and Economics Review 88 (2002). ssrn cu
  • Response, "Thinking Outside the Little Boxes: A Response to Professor Schlunk ", 80 Texas Law Review 893 (2002). ssrn cu
  • "Cross-Border vs Domestic Dividend-Stripping: An Illusory Distinction," 94 Tax Notes 1359 (2002) (with Daniel N. Shaviro) (also appeared in Tax Notes international). cu
  • "The Failure of Disclosure as an Approach to Shelters," 54 SMU Law Review 73 (2001). cu
  • "Reconsidering the Accrual of Interest Income," 78 Taxes - The Tax Magazine 36 (2000). cu
  • "Ironing Out the Flat Tax," 52 Stanford Law Review 599 (2000). ssrn cu
  • "Reconsidering the Original Issue Discount Rules," 78 Taxes - The Tax Magazine 36 (2000). cu
  • "Line Drawing Doctrine and Efficiency in the Tax Law," 84 Cornell Law Review 1627 (1999). cu
  • "A Partial Mark-to-Market Tax System," 53 Tax Law Review 95 (1999). cu
  • "Implications of Implicit Taxes," 52 SMU Law Review 373 (1999). cu
  • "Formalism in the Tax Law," 66 University of Chicago Law Review 860 (1999). ssrn cu
  • "Should a Short Sale Against the Box be a Realization Event?," 50 National Tax Journal 495 (1997). cu
  • "Tax Responses to Financial Contract Innovation," 50 Tax Law Review 491 (1995). cu

Book Sections

  • "Feasibility and Climate Justice," in Climate Justice and Feasibility: Normative Theorizing, Feasibility Constraints, and Climate Action, Sarah Kenehan & Corey Katz eds. (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2021).
  • "A Solution to the Leakage Problem," in U.S. Energy and Climate Roadmap: Evidence-based Policies for Effective Action (Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, 2021) (with Samuel Kortem). www
  • "Tax Compliance and Enforcement: An Overview of New Research and Its Policy Implications - Commentary," in The Economics of Tax Policy, Alan J. Auerbach & Kent Smetters eds. (Oxford University Press, 2017). cu
  • "The Social Evaluation of Intergenerational Policies and Its Application to Integrated Assessment Models of Climate Change," in Distributional Aspects of Energy and Climate Policies, Mark A. Cohen, Don Fullerton & Robert Topel eds. (Edward Elgar, 2013) (with Louis Kaplow & Elisabeth Moyer). cu
  • "The Regulation of Tax Advice and Advisors," in The Corporate Tax Practice Series: Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-Offs, Joint Ventures, Financings, Reorganizations and Restructurings (Practising Law Institute, 2011). cu
  • "Instrument Choice Is Instrument Design," in U.S. Energy Tax Policy, Gilbert E. Metcalf ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2011). cu
  • "Implementing Income and Consumption Taxes," in Institutional Foundations of Public Finance: Economic and Legal Perspectives, Daniel N. Shaviro & Alan J. Auerbach eds. (Harvard University Press, 2008). cu
  • "A Brief Primer on Debt Instruments with Contingent Payments," in Tax Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-offs, Joint Ventures, Financings, Reorganizations, and Restructurings (Practising Law Institute, 2008). cu
  • "Tax Shelters," in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics.2008). cu
  • "Should We Tax Capital Income? Comments on Zodrow and Toder and Rueben," in Taxing Capital Income, Henry J. Aaron, Leonard E. Burman & C. E. Steuerle eds. (Brookings Institution Press, 2007). cu
  • "Comment on the Tax Shelter Battle," in The Crisis in Tax Administration, Henry J. Aaron & Joel Slemrod eds. (Brookings Institution Press, 2004). cu
  • "Corporate Tax Avoidance," in Proceedings of the Ninety-Sixth Annual National Tax Association Conference (2003). cu

Working Papers

  • "Constrained Income Redistribution and Inequality: Legal Rules Compared to Taxes and Transfers," (2023). ssrn
  • "The Trade-Off Between Tax Administration and Tax Compliance," (2020). ssrn
  • "The Use of Neutralities in International Tax Policy," Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Working Paper, No. 697 (2014). cu
  • "Distributionally-Weighted Cost Benefit Analysis: Welfare Economics Meets Organizational Design," Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Working Paper, No. 689 (2014). ssrn cu
  • "Attributes of Ownership," Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Working Paper, No. 621 (2012) (with Reid Thompson). ssrn cu

Other Publications

  • "Gambling on the Climate (reviewing William Nordhaus, Climate Casino: Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World)," The New Rambler, April 29, 2015. www
  • "Should There Be a Price on Carbon?," Wall Street Journal, October 5, 2012 (interview with Weisbach).

Additional Activities

Memberships and Professional Affiliations

  • American Law Institute (2008-present)

Awards and Honors

  • Fellow, American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2012-present)
  • Richard Musgrave Prize (2004)

Editorial Work

  • National Tax Journal (2017-present)
  • Journal of Legal Analysis (2015-present)
  • Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research (2008-present)

Service

  • Board of Trustees, National Tax Association (2012-2015)
  • Trustee, American Institute of Tax Policy (July 2003-2009)
  • Consultant, President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform (2005)