Adam N. Michel is director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, where he focuses on analyzing the economic and budgetary effects of taxation in the United States. Prior to joining Cato, Michel served as deputy staff director at the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, where he helped lead Senator Mike Lee’s (R‑UT) Social Capital Project, organized congressional hearings, and produced research on a wide array of current economic topics. He has also worked as senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation and as the program manager for the Spending and Budget Initiative at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He received his PhD in economics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and a BA in politics from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.