Could AI Hollow Out the Tax Base? with Lee Lockwood

As artificial intelligence reshapes the economy, what happens when fewer workers are earning wages and contributing to the tax base? This week, Elisa is joined by Lee Lockwood, an economics professor at the University of Virginia, to examine the possibility of a modern “Engels’ Pause,” a prolonged period in which technological progress increases productivity and wealth without improving conditions for workers. Together, they explore how widespread automation could affect employment, inequality, government revenue, capital investment, and national security—and what history can teach us about navigating a post-labor economy.Lee Lockwood is a professor of economics at the University of Virginia whose research focuses on transformative artificial intelligence, public finance, and labor economics.References:Korinek, Anton, and Lee M. Lockwood. “Public Finance in the Age of AI: A Primer.” Brookings Center on Regulation and Markets, Nov. 2025.Register for our upcoming event: From Public Service to Private Sector: In-House Counsel Navigating Modern Security Threats – Tues., Sept. 1, at 6PM. at Greenberg Traurig LLP – co-hosted by the Women in National Security Law InitiativeRegister for the 36th Annual Review of National Security Law CLE Conference – Oct. 8th-9th, at the Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington, DC