# Tim Kane

Timothy Joseph Kane (born April 28, 1968) is a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and professor of economics at the University of Austin (UATX). He served as a U.S. Air Force intelligence officer with two overseas tours of duty. Kane co-founded multiple start-up technology firms while pursuing a Ph.D. in economics in the late 1990s, then served on the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress and was director of the Center for International Trade and Economics at The Heritage Foundation. Kane is the author of the book Bleeding Talent: How the U.S. Military Mismanages Great Leaders and Why It's Time for a Revolution. He co-authored Balance: The Economics of Great Powers from Ancient Rome to Modern America with Glenn Hubbard. Kane's latest book is The Immigrant Superpower: How Brains, Brawn, and Bravery Make America Stronger, which makes the case for greater legal immigration and zero illegal immigration.
Kane ran as a Republican candidate in Ohio's 12th congressional district special election in 2018.

## Personal life

Kane was born in Lansing, Michigan and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He attended public schools from K-12 in Columbus, and received his appointment to the United States Air Force Academy from Congressman Chalmers P. Wylie. He came to identify as a Republican after becoming concerned with high taxation that inhibited job creation and his ability to hire employees. He held the position of co-chair of the Conte Task Force on Comprehensive Immigration Reform and was the J-P Conte Fellow in Immigration at the Hoover Institution until 2021.

## Education

Between 1986 and 1990, Kane attended the United States Air Force Academy and earned Bachelor of Science in economics and political science. Between 1995 and 2001, Kane attended the University of California, San Diego, earning a PhD in economics. His dissertation was titled “The Convergence of Nations: Three Papers on International Growth”.

## Career

Kane currently serves as a professor of Economics at UATX and is under contract for his next book, The Value of Nothing (what economics neglects to measure about the things people value most). Kane has provided commentary for The New York Times, USA Today, CNN, CNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, MSNBC, Bloomberg Television, and PBS’ Nightly Business Report.
Until 2021, Kane served as a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. Prior to his appointment at Hoover, he was a chief economist at the Hudson Institute. He was also a senior fellow at the Kauffman Foundation where he led the development of its first blog, www.growthology.org. Between 2004 and 2007, Kane was a director at The Heritage Foundation. Kane specializes in economics, national security, and defense economics. His work on entrepreneurship and job creation was cited in the 2011 Economic Report of the President.
Kane also worked in governmental roles. Between 2004 and 2008, he served as both the chief labor economist and the senior economist on the Joint Economic Committee. In these roles, he published research on US employment, analyzed macroeconomics and taxation, and organized joint hearings on employment and fundamental tax reform.
Before his academic career, Kane had experience as an entrepreneur. Between 1998 and 2000, he was the founder and director of enonymous.com, a software company that was awarded the San Diego Software Startup of the Year award in 1999. Prior to this, he was a founder and director of Neocor Tech, LLC (Japanese translation software).
Formerly an intelligence officer in the US Air Force, Kane was stationed in Japan, South Korea, and later at Andrews Air Force Base. In this role, he also worked with the CIA, the Pentagon, and the National Security Agency.
Why America? is Kane's substack.

## Research and publications
### Congressional testimony

* "American Competitiveness: Why Well-intentioned Labor Regulations for Families Can Hurt More than Help", delivered testimony before the Joint Economic Committee, June 14, 2007
* "Foreign Investment, Growth, and Economic Freedom: What Is OPIC's Role?", delivered testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Trade, May 24, 2007
* "Reforming U.S. law on unemployment insurance", delivered testimony before the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support of the House Committee on Ways and Means, May 4, 2006

### Presentations and public speeches

* National Association of Business Economists conference, Dallas, TX, September 12, 2011
* National League of Cities, Small Business Summit, Washington, DC, August 18, 2011
* Host, Economics Bloggers Forum, Kansas City, MO, April 2011
* "How Jobless is Our Recovery?" presentation at the American Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC, May 10, 2004. The event was covered nationally on C-SPAN.

### Publications

* "Development and U.S. Troop Deployment", Foreign Policy Analysis, 2011
* "U.S. Troops and Economic Growth: Regression Analysis with Robustness Tests", Garret Jones and Tim Kane, Defense and Peace Economics, 2011
* "Kauffman Economic Outlook: A Quarterly Survey of Leading Economics Bloggers, Third quarter 2011", The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, August 2011
* "Kauffman Foundation Research Series: Firm Formation and Economic Growth, The Importance of Startups in Job Creation and Job Destruction, July 2010", The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
* 2007 Index of Economic Freedom, published by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, January 2007
* "Phantom Jobs and Job Losses", The Public Interest, Winter 2005
* "Global U.S. Troop Deployment, 1950–2005", Center for Data Analysis Report #06-02, May 24, 2006
* "Diverging Employment Data: A Critical View of the Payroll Survey" Center for Data Analysis Report #04-03, March 4, 2004

### Commentary

* "Redefining 'Winners and Losers' on Taxes", Real Clear Politics, December 3, 2017
* "Recessions and the presidents who inherited them", Fox News, July 6, 2012
* "Who is the divisive president?", Washington Examiner June 3, 2012
* "In pursuit of a Balanced Budget", with Glenn Hubbard, Politico, July 28, 2011
* "The Way To Cut Taxes And Deficits", American.com, December 16, 2010
* "Why Our Best Officers Are Leaving", The Atlantic, January/February 2011, pp. 80–85
* "Every Man (and Woman) an Entrepreneur", Forbes, September 13, 2010
* "Debunking the Myth of the Underprivileged Soldier", by Tim Kane and James Jay Carafano, USA Today, November 27, 2005
* "Exit Strategy – A Mere Phrase, Not a Strategy", USA Today, June 19, 2005
* "Labor's Lost Jobs", New York Times, April 7, 2004

### Selected media appearances

This is not a comprehensive list.
* CNBC: Closing Bell (7/23/2012)
* PBS: Nightly Business Report, monthly commentary since mid-2010
* CNBC: Power Lunch "Job Growth a Political Issue?" (8/3/2007)
* Bloomberg: On The Economy (6/22/2007)
* CNBC: Power Lunch "Index of Economic Freedom" (03/29/2007)
* CNN: The Situation Room "Bring Back the Draft?" (11/20/2006)
* FOX: 24/7 "Military Education" (11/1/2006)
* C-SPAN: Washington Journal "Military Demographics" (05/28/2006)

### Books

* Bleeding Talent: How the U.S. Military Mismanages Great Leaders and Why It's Time for a Revolution (2012)
* Balance: The Economics of Great Powers from Ancient Rome to Modern America, coauthored with Glenn Hubbard (2013)
* Total Volunteer Force: Lessons from the US Military on Leadership Culture and Talent Management (2017)
* The Immigrant Superpower: How Brains, Braun, and Bravery Make America Stronger (2022)