Burtless graduated from Yale College and earned his PhD in economics at M.I.T. His research focuses on aging, saving, labor markets, income distribution, social insurance, and the behavioral effects of government policy. He is coauthor of, among other books, "Growth with Equity: Economic Policymaking for the Next Century," (1993) and "Can America Afford to Grow Old? Paying for Social Security," (1989). Burtless has also written many scholarly and popular articles on the economic effects of Social Security, public welfare, unemployment insurance, and taxes.