# William Niskanen Back to [[Economic Freedom and Prosperity]] · [[Authors/@Kristof_Poland/Post Analyses/Post Analysis - Kristof_Poland on Parkinson's Laws and Brussels (2026-10-25)|@Kristof_Poland on Parkinson's laws]] · [[Vocabulary#Bureaucracy and the EU|Vocabulary]] **Role:** American economist, public choice school (1933–2011) ✔ - ***Bureaucracy and Representative Government*** (1971) ✔: the budget-maximising model, in which bureau heads seek larger budgets because budget brings pay, rank and power, and a legislature that knows less than the bureau tends to grant them. - Member and acting chairman of Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers ✔; chairman of the Cato Institute 1985–2008 ✔. Wrote *Reaganomics* (1988) ◻. - @Handre named him in reply to @Kristof_Poland's Part Two (Oct 25, 2026, 4:09 PM CT): "William Niskanen gave it a name in 1971: bureaucrats maximise their budget, because budget means rank." Key: ✔ confirmed this session · ◻ standard knowledge, not opened this session · ⚠️ unconfirmed.