Justin Wolfers
Born (1972-12-11) 11 December 1972 (age 51)[3]
Papua New Guinea[4]
NationalityAustralian
Academic career
InstitutionThe Brookings Institution
University of Michigan
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
Harvard University
Doctoral
advisor		Lawrence F. Katz[1][2]
Olivier Blanchard[1][2]
Academic
advisors		Christopher Jencks[1]
Alberto Alesina[1]

Justin James Michael Wolfers (born 1972) is an Australian economist and public policy scholar. He is professor of economics and public policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Career

Wolfers holds a Ph.D. in Economics (1997–2001) and an Master of Economics (2000), both from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney (1991–1994). He had a Fulbright Scholarship.[5] Wolfers attended James Ruse Agricultural High School (1985–1990).[6] He is noted for his research on happiness and its relation to income.[7]

Wolfers moved to the University of Michigan as professor of economics and public policy beginning in fall 2012 with his partner, fellow economist Betsey Stevenson.[8] Prior to coming to the University of Michigan, Wolfers was associate professor of business and public policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a contributor to The New York Times (where he writes for The Upshot blog) and The Wall Street Journal. He was an editor of the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity from 2009 through 2015. Wolfers' research has explored macro economics, labor economics, the economics of sports, prediction markets, and the family.[9]

In 2007, he was named in David Leonhardt's column as one of 13 young economists who were the future of economics.[10] In 2014, he was named by International Monetary Fund as one of the 25 brightest young economists who are expected to shape the world's thinking about the global economy in the future.[11]

In 2019, he and Stevenson wrote two economics textbooks, Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics, published by Macmillan Learning. The authors' aim was to reflect a school of thought where "every decision a person makes as an economic decision" and offer examples students could relate to in order to better reflect the real world.[12]

Personal life

Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson have publicly discussed being in a shared earning/shared parenting relationship.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d WolfersCV
  2. ^ a b "RePEc Genealogy page for Justin Wolfers". Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  3. ^ Justin Wolfers [@JustinWolfers] (12 December 2014). "Best. Birthday. Ever. #42" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Bowmaker, Simon W. (2012). The Art and Practice of Economics Research. doi:10.4337/9781849808477. ISBN 9781849808477.
  5. ^ "Much-Watched Couple in Economics Lands at U. of Michigan". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  6. ^ Baker, Jordan (18 December 2020). "25 years at the top of the HSC: What makes James Ruse special". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  7. ^ "Subjective Well-Being and Income: Is There Any Evidence of Satiation?". 30 November 2001.
  8. ^ a b Peter Monaghan (2012) "Much-Watched Couple in Economics Lands at U. of Michigan" Chronicle of Higher Education
  9. ^ "Justin Wolfers | Professor of Economics & Public Policy". users.nber.org. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  10. ^ David Leonhardt (10 January 2007). "The future of economics isn't so dismal". New York Times.
  11. ^ Boby Michael, "IMF Lists 25 Brightest Young Economists", International Business Times [1] August 2014
  12. ^ "Macmillan Learning announces publication date for new Stevenson, Wolfers economics textbooks". The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
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