Max Ghenis
Building open-source tools that help people understand how policy affects their lives and their communities.
Current work
PolicyEngine
Open source software to simulate tax and benefit policies in the US and UK. Our tools help policymakers, researchers, and the public understand how reforms affect households and society.
Visit policyengine.orgRecent writing
I built a MyST-to-Quarto converter (and why you might need one)
mystquarto converts academic markdown between MyST and Quarto formats — directives, roles, config files, and frontmatter. Now on PyPI.
Read moreOne year of Claude Code
A year ago, Anthropic launched Claude Code. I've since consumed 10 billion tokens, mass-tweeted about it, and mass-customized it. Here's my setup and what I've learned.
Read moreWhy you can't make double eye contact
Your eyes can only converge on a single point. Up close, that means you have to pick one of the other person's eyes to look at.
Read moreSide projects
Academic research
What can LLMs tell us about the ETI?
With Jason DeBacker. How LLMs perceive behavioral responses to tax policy.
Beer Price Controls at Yankee Stadium
Economic analysis of stadium pricing, externalities, and welfare.
AI Model Policy Impact Forecasts
Examining LLMs for forecasting policy outcomes under different administrations.
Enhancing Survey Microdata with Administrative Records
Novel approach to microsimulation dataset construction. Presented at NTA 2024.