[1] He was a consultant to the U.S. Treasury Department, the Congressional Budget Office, the International Monetary Fund, and the Bank of Japan.
Makin reported on the U.S. economy, writing on topics related to monetary policy, tax and budget issues, in monthly essays entitled "Economic Outlook", for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
Makin earned a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago after writing a dissertation on the risk involved in the composition of international reserve holdings.
In 1978 he was named the director of the Institute for Economic Research at the University of Washington, a post he held for six years.
After serving as a member of the Panel of Economic Advisers for the Congressional Budget Office for a decade, holding a post at AEI, and consulting for the Bank of Japan, Makin moved from academia into financial markets, working closely with Caxton Associates for two decades.