Brandon Pizzola

View Hi-Res Image

Brandon Pizzola

  • MA Fellow

Brandon Pizzola is a second year MA student in the Department of Economics at George Mason University. Prior to the Mercatus MA Fellowship at the Mercatus Center he graduated from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he received his undergraduate degree as a double major in economics and government with a minor in mathematics. His current research focus is the use of applied economics in tax and regulation policy.

Published Research

A Trillion Little Subsidies: The Economic Impact of Tax Expenditures in the Federal Income Tax Code

Jeremy Horpedahl, Brandon Pizzola | Oct 25, 2012
This study documents the economic distortions and inefficiencies that result from a tax system filled with tax expenditures. We review each of the ten largest tax expenditures for individuals and corporations, focusing the following distortions of economic activity: spending on goods and services, capital allocation, the distribution of income, and lobbying and rent-seeking.

Who Pays the Tax? Theoretical and Empirical Considerations of Tax Incidence

Cecil Bohanon, Brandon Pizzola | Sep 24, 2012
The question of who pays a tax has a discernible answer that need not be shrouded in technical mystery. This paper offers those who have little or no formal exposure to economics a tutorial in the economics of tax incidence.

Working Papers

The Political Economy of Medicaid Reform

Scott Beaulier, Brandon Pizzola | Feb 13, 2012
This paper looks at the recent growth in Medicaid spending and attempts to explain Medicaid reform successes and failures by focusing on five reform experiences in Rhode Island, Washington, Florida, Idaho, and Tennessee.

Policy Briefs

The Political Economy of Medicaid Reform: Evidence from Five Reforming States

Scott Beaulier, Brandon Pizzola | Apr 26, 2012
Fiscal policy at both the federal and state levels is on an unsustainable path. Entitlement reform in America—particularly Medicaid reform—is shifting from a question of whether cuts should be made, to how much must be cut? To better understand best practices in Medicaid reform, we explore five recent state-level Medicaid reforms and their ability to simultaneously reduce costs, maintain or increase access, and survive the politics of reform.