The White House and Congress concluded debt ceiling negotiations for 2023 but it continues to be a looming political consideration every year. Georgetown University experts are available to discuss various aspects of the issue with the media.
To request interviews with Georgetown faculty, please email media@georgetown.edu.
Business and Economic Experts
David Vandivier, executive director of the Georgetown University Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy
- More than two decades of experience at the highest levels of financial policy including in the White House, U.S. Treasury Department, U.S. Senate, and BNY Mellon, where he was co-head of government affairs.
- Previously senior advisor to the commissioner at the Internal Revenue Service and chief of staff at the Council of Economic Advisers in the Obama White House.
- Recent op-ed: “The Debt-Ceiling Crisis Won’t End Until Markets Make Politicians Feel It”
Sandeep Dahiya, Akkaway Professor of Entrepreneurship
- Expert in corporate finance and bankruptcy, banking and financial institutions, global markets, corporate governance and venture capital.
- Subject matter expertise: corporate finance; banking crisis; international banking and finance; lending relationships; financial economics; corporate restructuring; venture capitalists; entrepreneurial finance; IPOs; executive compensation; corporate boards; endowments.
- While a corporate finance and strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company, he worked with Fortune 500 firms and leading law firms. He also worked for ICICI Bank, one of the first Indian companies to be listed on the NYSE.
Reena Aggarwal, Robert E. McDonough Professor of Finance and director of the Georgetown University Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy
- Expert in international financial markets, market regulation, corporate governance, initial public offerings (IPOs) and private equity.
- Subject matter expertise: capital markets; emerging markets; regulation, corporate governance; Wall Street; market valuation; Dodd-Frank; stock exchanges; private equity; proxy voting; securities lending; cryptocurrency, regulatory agencies (SEC, Fed, CFTC, etc.).
- Worked on major consulting projects sponsored by stock exchanges, securities commissions, law firms, investment banks, economic consulting firms, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, International Finance Corporation, Inter-American Development Bank, United Nations, U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Agency for International Development, and financial institutions or governments in India, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru and other countries.
- Served on the Biden-Harris Transition agency review team for the Federal Reserve, banking and securities regulators.
- Language skill: Hindi
James (Jim) Angel, associate professor of finance and faculty affiliate of the Georgetown University Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy
- Expert in financial markets, financial crises, the U.S. economy and the operation and regulation of the stock market.
- Subject matter expertise: capital markets; Wall Street; Dodd-Frank; SEC; short selling; stock splits; the flash crash; equity risk models; insider trading; stock exchange mergers; high-tech/frequency trading; personal finance; money markets and funds; stock volatility; stock and derivative exchanges (NYSE Euronext, NasdaqOMX, Deutsch Boerse, etc); cryptocurrency, bitcoin.
- Has visited more than 50 financial exchanges around the world and served as a visiting economist for the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
- Served as chairman of the Nasdaq Economic Advisory Board and as a member of the OTC Bulletin Board Advisory Committee.
Legal and Constitutional Experts
Anita Krishnakumar, professor of law and Anne Fleming Research Professor
- Wrote the 2005 paper, “In Defense of the Debt Limit Statute“
- Scholarship focuses on statutory interpretation and the legislative process, including the congressional budget process, lobbying regulations and interpretive trends in the Supreme Court’s statutory jurisprudence.
- Recent media: Washington Post, “The debt limit law has its benefits. At least it used to.” New York Times, “Is the Debt Limit Constitutional? Biden Aides Are Debating It.”
David Super, Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law and Economics
- Areas of Expertise: Administrative law, constitutional law, contracts, evidence, legislation, property, social welfare, taxation, torts
- Previously served as the general counsel for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and worked for the National Health Law Program and Community Legal Services in Philadelphia.
- Recent media: The Washington Post, “What is the debt ceiling, and what happens if the U.S. hits it?”
Adam Levitin, Anne Fleming Research Professor and professor of law
- Specializes in bankruptcy, commercial law and financial regulation.
- Previously served as special counsel to the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program and on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Consumer Advisory Board.
- Recent media: Financial Times, “Dissecting the US Public Debt Clause; Can the 14th amendment save the US from a debt ceiling debacle?”
Anna Gelpern, Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and International Finance
- Has published research on government debt, contracts and regulation of financial institutions and markets.
- Served in legal and policy positions in the U.S. Treasury Department between 1996 and 2002.
- Recent media: Financial Times, “Dissecting the US Public Debt Clause; Can the 14th amendment save the US from a debt ceiling debacle?”
Legislative Experts
Laura Blessing, senior fellow at the Government Affairs Institute
- Areas of expertise: Budgetary politics, legislative process and politics, tax policy and politics, congressional operations, executive-legislative relations
- Previously worked on Capitol Hill as an American Political Science Association (APSA) Congressional Fellow, where she served as the legislative assistant for tax policy for a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee.
- Recent media: CBC, “The U.S. debt limit is again stoking fears across the globe. Why not just scrap the thing?”
Global Market Experts
Ramon Cobo Reyes Cano, associate professor of economics at Georgetown University in Qatar
- Research focuses on behavioral economics, especially in labor markets and healthy decisions.
- Expert in experimental economics, labor markets and labor policy, psychology and cognitive science.
Alexis Antoniades, associate professor of economics and director of international economics at Georgetown University in Qatar
- Expert on understanding global markets and on the economies of Gulf countries.
- Previously worked as an assistant economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
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