Since joining Brookings, Wallach’s research has covered a variety of topics. He has chronicled the development of America’s climate change policies under the Clean Air Act, examining the role of courts in forcing a reinterpretation of the Act. He has studied the changing application of the Glass-Steagall Act by banking regulators, arguing that calls for a revival of the law rarely take into account the historical experience with it. Most recently, he has analyzed the federal debt ceiling, explaining its origin and arguing that threats not to raise it are a particularly ineffective means of restraining federal spending.

Wallach’s current research includes studies of federal budgeting institutions, the necessary conditions for effective fiscal leadership, and an investigation of the rule of law implications of policy responses to the financial crisis.

Wallach received a B.A. from the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University.