John F. Cogan
Leonard and Shirley Ely Senior Fellow

Expertise: Federal budget, domestic human resources policy

Click here for bio summary.

John F. Cogan is the Leonard and Shirley Ely Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor in the Public Policy Program at Stanford University, where he has had a continuing appointment since 1980.

Cogan is an expert in domestic policy. His current research is focused on U.S. budget and fiscal policy, social security, and health care. He has published widely in professional journals in both economics and political science.  His most recent book, Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Five Steps to a Better Health Care System, coauthored with Glenn Hubbard and Daniel Kessler, recommends federal policy changes to improve U.S. health-care markets.

At Stanford, he currently serves on faculty advisory boards for the Stanford-in-Washington campus and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He received Stanford-in-Government's Distinguished Service Award in 1994.

Cogan has devoted a considerable part of his career to public service. He served as assistant secretary for policy in the U.S. Department of Labor from 1981 to 1983. From 1983 to 1986, he served as associate director in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), first as associate director for economics and government and subsequently as associate director for human resources. His responsibilities included developing and reviewing all health, housing, education, and employment training programs and policies. From 1988 to 1989, he served as deputy director of OMB.

Cogan has served on numerous congressional and presidential advisory commissions. He is currently a member of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Council of Economic Advisers and serves on the governor's Public Employee Post-Employment Benefits Commission. He has served on President George W. Bush's Commission to Strengthen Social Security, the U.S. Bipartisan Commission on Health Care (the Pepper Commission), the Social Security Notch Commission, the National Academy of Sciences' Panel on Poverty and Family Assistance, and the Congressional Budget Office's Panel of Economic Advisers. During the 2000 presidential campaign he served as a senior economic adviser to George W. Bush on issues relating to tax, budget, and social security policy. Following the 2000 presidential election, he directed President Bush's budget transition team.

Cogan serves on the board of directors of Gilead Sciences, Monaco Coach Corporation, and Venture Lending and Leasing.

Cogan received his A.B. in 1969 and his Ph.D. in 1976 from the University of California at Los Angeles, both in economics. He was an associate economist at the RAND Corporation from 1975 to 1980. In 1979, Cogan was appointed a national fellow at the Hoover Institution; in 1980 he was appointed a senior research fellow; and in 1984 he became a senior fellow.

Cogan is married with six children. He is an avid cyclist who enjoys tennis, skiing, and golf.