Kimberly Clausing
Eric M. Zolt Professor of Tax Law and Policy
Kimberly Clausing is the Eric M. Zolt Professor of Tax Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Analysis in the U.S. Treasury Department from 2021 to 2022. She is the author of Open: The Progressive Case for Free Trade, Immigration, and Global Capital, and has published dozens of articles on corporate and international tax issues. Before joining UCLA in 2021, she was the Thormund A. Miller and Walter Mintz Professor of Economics at Reed College.
Teaching Style
Professor Clausing brings deep economics expertise to her law school teaching, using the Socratic method to help students understand the economic logic behind tax policy decisions. She cold-calls students and expects them to engage with both the legal rules of taxation and the empirical evidence about how tax policies affect corporate behavior and government revenue. Her classes bridge law and economics, challenging students to evaluate tax policies based on efficiency, equity, and administrability.
Cold Call Tips
- 1Review basic concepts of corporate taxation and international tax rules before class
- 2Be prepared to discuss the economic effects of tax policies, not just the legal rules
- 3Understand how multinational corporations structure their operations to minimize taxes
- 4Stay current on tax reform debates and be ready to evaluate proposals using economic and legal criteria
Areas of Expertise
Education
- Ph.D., Harvard University (Economics)
- M.A., Harvard University (Economics)
- B.A., Carleton College
Notable Publications
- Open: The Progressive Case for Free Trade, Immigration, and Global Capital
- Dozens of articles on corporate and international tax issues in economics and law journals
Research Interests
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