In early June, 50 officials from across the government crammed into the offices of the Council of Economic Advisers to hear a lecture by Harvard economist Raj Chetty on economic mobility, twice the usual turnout for visiting economists. Earlier in the day, he conferred one-on-one with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. The day before, he met with several other cabinet secretaries.

Mr. Chetty’s work on economic mobility, education, retirement savings and poverty is popular with Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns alike, in part, because he doesn’t push a partisan line. He thinks the government should work to reduce racial segregation and improve schools, as Democrats want, and that neighborhoods and families have a huge role in improving economic outcomes, as Republicans argue.

But he is especially popular at the White House. President Barack Obama has met at least twice with him personally and singled out his work on education and teacher testing in the 2012 State of the Union address.

“What’s great about him is that he’s a pure scientist,” said White House chief economist Jason Furman.