Tom Romer's research explores the interaction of the market and nonmarket forces that influence the allocation of economic resources. He taught at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Western Ontario, and has been a visiting scholar at the Federal Trade Commission and Stanford University, and a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. His work on the politics and economics of local governments' taxation and spending behavior was awarded the Duncan Black Prize of the Public Choice Society. Other recent work has included studies of the political underpinnings of the savings and loan debacle in the United States and research on campaign finance and electoral competition. His current projects focus on the political economy of federalism. He has served on the advisory panels of the National Science Foundation and on the editorial boards of the American Economic Review  and Public Choice.

Ph.D. Yale University.