Tate Lacey was a policy analyst at the Cato Institute's Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, covering monetary policy and macroeconomics. Before joining Cato, Lacey was an economist at the Bureau of Economic Analysis, serving on the team responsible for publishing monthly GDP statistics and reports. At BEA he monitored and analyzed the financial, health, and education sectors, among others, and created indicators for use in the National Income and Product Accounts. Prior to BEA, Lacey spent three years as a management consultant for a range of clients, including many of the nation's largest banks. His specialty in designing risk management frameworks helped clients to manage compliance costs and better understand and reduce risk exposure. He had the privilege of serving as a research fellow in Congress, advising on federal budget projections and monetary policy.

A native Californian, Lacey studied political science and philosophy at the University of California, Davis and earned his MA in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University.