Edward McCaffery
Robert C. Packard Trustee Chair in Law, Professor of Law, Economics and Political Science
Edward McCaffery holds the Robert C. Packard Trustee Chair in Law at the USC Gould School of Law, where he is an internationally recognized expert in tax law and behavioral public finance. He holds degrees from Yale, Harvard Law School, and USC, and has served as chair of the USC Institute on Federal Taxation since 1997. His books Taxing Women and Fair Not Flat have influenced policy debates about tax reform and gender equity. He previously served as Interim Dean of USC Law and has been a visiting professor at the California Institute of Technology since 1994.
Teaching Style
Professor McCaffery is known for his lively and accessible approach to tax law, using behavioral economics and cognitive psychology to illuminate how people actually perceive and respond to tax rules. His Socratic method is engaging and sometimes provocative, pushing students to question conventional assumptions about tax policy through cleverly constructed hypotheticals. He cold-calls regularly and expects students to think beyond technical rules to the broader social, economic, and political implications of tax design, often connecting tax policy to questions of gender equity and fairness.
Cold Call Tips
- 1Understand the basic structure of the Internal Revenue Code and be ready to trace through how specific provisions work mechanically
- 2Think about how cognitive biases and behavioral tendencies shape taxpayer responses to different tax structures
- 3Be prepared to discuss how the tax system affects different groups, particularly women and dual-income families
- 4Consider the policy arguments for and against progressive taxation, consumption taxes, and various reform proposals
Areas of Expertise
Education
- J.D., magna cum laude, Harvard Law School
- M.A. in Economics, University of Southern California
- B.A., summa cum laude, Yale University
Notable Publications
- Taxing Women: How the Marriage Penalty Affects Your Taxes
- Fair Not Flat: How to Make the Tax System Better and Simpler
- Behavioral Public Finance (co-edited)
Research Interests
More Professors at University of Southern California Gould School of Law
Civil Procedure, Property, English Legal History
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Criminal Law, Torts, Stereotypes and Prejudice in the Law
Election Law, Constitutional Law, Legal History, Employment Discrimination