Justin Marlowe is a Research Professor at the University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy, where he also serves as Director of the Harris School's Center for Municipal Finance. His research is focused on the systems governments devise to pay for services and infrastructure, and how those systems are shaped by taxpayers, investors, and other governments. That work has appeared in the leading scholarly journals in public finance, public policy, governmental accounting, public health, urban studies, health care administration, transportation finance,  and other fields. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Municipal Finance Journal, and he was previously Editor-in-Chief of Public Budgeting & Finance.

Professor Marlowe has authored or edited six books - including the forthcoming Public Debt Management: Strategy and Evidence (Cambridge University Press) - and dozens of articles on a wide range of topics including: the structure and dynamics of the municipal bond market, infrastructure finance, governmental accounting and financial reporting, local fiscal policy, and many other topics. His research has won several best article awards and has been supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Government Finance Officers Association, and many other philanthropies and professional associations.

Much of Professor Marlowe's work engages the practice community. He has been a regular columnist for both Government Finance Review and Governing magazine.  He is a Trustee of the Vantage Trust Company; serves on the Government Finance Officers Association's Committee on Governmental Debt Management; is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration; is a Fellow at the Center for Digital Government; and has served on technical advisory bodies for the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, the National League of Cities, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the California State Auditor, and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, among many other governments and non-profit organizations. He is also co-host of the Public Money Pod, one of the few podcasts dedicated to state and local government finance.

Professor Marlowe routinely works as an expert witness and consultant for clients across the public and private sectors. Prior to academia he worked in local government in Michigan. He holds the Certified Board Member designation from the National Association of Corporate Directors and has been a Certified Government Financial Manager. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a B.S. and MPA from Northern Michigan University.