Gerald Auten, 2023 Davie-Davis Award Recipient

Gerald Auten is the recipient of the 2023 Davie-Davis Public Service Award. Auten has spent much of his career at the U.S. Department of Treasury where he is now Senior Research Economist in the Office of Tax Analysis. He has been a dedicated public servant, having long worked with key officials at the Treasury and having contributed important analysis on income measurement and tax policy issues for federal policymakers. Auten is a meticulous researcher who has made important contributions to the issue of income distribution, one of the most important political economy issues of the day. He has also made important contributions in the analysis of capital gains taxation and the effects of taxation on charitable giving. He is known for his careful attention to detail in his work with data. He has published in the National Tax Journal, American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Public Economics, and Quarterly Journal of Economics among other journals.

As noted by NTA President Daphne A. Kenyon, “The Davie-Davis Award Committee was so pleased to put forward Jerry’s nomination and the National Tax Association is proud to recognize Jerry as this year’s recipient of the Davie-Davis Public Service Award.”

Auten is a generous colleague who willingly shares his experience, data, and time to assist junior colleagues.  He has long served as an important advisor to the Statistics of Income staff at the Internal Revenue Service.  His efforts always result in improved data quality and content for both internal Treasury use and public release. 

Auten is devoted to the field of taxation and is a regular attendee and contributor at NTA meetings as well as other forums where tax topics are discussed.  These include the Washington Tax Economists Forum, where he regularly shares preliminary work and comments on work by others, and the Public Economics meetings sponsored by the National Bureau for Economic Research.  He has also been active in the Society of Government Economists and organized sessions for the Allied Social Sciences Association meetings. He has been active in the Treasury Historical Association, having played a key role in the 2019 event celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Office of Tax Policy.

Prior to coming to the Treasury, Auten was an economics professor at Bowling Green State University. He received his PhD in economics from the University of Michigan.

The Davie-Davis Public Service Award was created in 2005 in memory of two long-time National Tax Association members, Bruce F. Davie and Albert J. Davis. The award honors NTA members who have followed Bruce F. Davie and Albert J. Davis in serving the public through the provision of insightful analyses and objective advice on issues of taxation and government finance to elected officials, other policymakers, and the general public. The award is presented annually at the National Tax Association’s annual spring symposium.  

A full list of previous winners can be found here.