Justin Wolfers

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Core faculty

Justin Wolfers

Professor of Public Policy; Professor of Economics

Wolfers's research interests include labor economics, macroeconomics, political economy, social policy, law and economics, and behavioral economics. He is a research associate with the National Bureau for Economic Research, a senior fellow of the Brookings Institution and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a research affiliate with the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London, and an international research fellow at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany.

In the Media

Wolfers says inflation rate shift unfavorable to low-income people

Sep 14, 2020

“People are buying more of the essentials, like groceries, forcing their prices up. And they’re buying fewer airline tickets and less gasoline and clothing, pushing those prices down.” Read the full article in...

News

Stevenson and Wolfers: "Think Like an Economist"

Aug 21, 2020

Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers have launched a new podcast, called "Think Like an Economist." In a series of tweets on August 19, @JustinWolfers explained: We’re calling it Think Like an Economist because we want to teach you to,...

News

Stevenson and Wolfers: Michigan’s go-slow approach good for public health and economy

Aug 13, 2020

When other states were reopening their economies in May, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was taking a go-slow approach, which infuriated small business owners and Republican legislators. An article in Mlive says that as COVID-19 cases are surging in...

News

Making sense of the complex unemployment numbers

Jul 10, 2020

On July 2nd, the Labor Department reported that 4.8 million jobs had been added, and unemployment stood at 11% - still higher than it was at the peak of the Great Recession in 2008 — with 17.8 million Americans still out of work. Ford School...

News

"Planet Money Summer School " features Stevenson and Wolfers

Jul 7, 2020

Planet Money, the irreverent and informative NPR podcast, is convening a Summer School starting on July 8, “turning it's podcast feed into a classroom for the masses, for anyone who wants to see the world through the lens of an economist.” Ford...

Was the drop in unemployment predictable? It depends who you ask...

Jun 5, 2020

An article in Vox.com on June 5, reacting to the surprising drop in the unemplyment rate, quoted Ford School economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers : "Betsey Stevenson, the former chief economist at the US Department of Labor and a...

Wolfers says coronavirus-led economic recession reveals gaps in U.S. safety net

Jun 1, 2020

Against the backdrop of the severe U.S. economic downturn caused by the coronavirus, Ford School economics professor Justin Wolfers told ABC News Australia May 31 that the country was ill-prepared to provide a safety net for its citizens. The...

State & Hill

Spotlights – Spring 2020 State & Hill

May 22, 2020

All hands on deck Ford School faculty and research centers have been actively involved with the policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Luke Shaefer is advising the state on how to reduce the impact on low-income families. Michael Barr, Betsey...

In times of crisis, electricity usage data can estimate economic damage, says Wolfers

Apr 10, 2020

With economic activity changing faster than standard statistical measures can keep up, economists are looking at other indicators to take the economy’s pulse. Justin Wolfers, professor at the Ford School, analyzed electricity usage to understand the...

Ford School economists comment on Federal response to COVID-19

Mar 27, 2020

A historic $2 trillion relief package has just been approved by Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent economic crisis. Professors Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers have weighed in on the relief package and the economic...

Macmillan Learning announces publication date for new Stevenson, Wolfers economics textbooks

Oct 18, 2019

On October 17, 2019 Macmillan Learning announced two textbooks written by acclaimed Ford School economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers will be available for the Fall 2020 semester. The new texts, Principles of Microeconomics and...

Refereeing the Referees: Wolfers featured on podcast about fairness in basketball

Apr 8, 2019

Just in time for the NCAA championship game concluding March Madness, a new podcast investigating the idea of fairness titled Against the Rules with Michael Lewis gives insight into changing referee standards. In the first episode released April 2,...

10% Happier: Stevenson and Wolfers talk wealth inequality and redistribution on NewsHour

Mar 1, 2019

More money makes you happier...right? Professors Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson say that’s accurate, to a point. “It’s a truism, but it’s false,” states Wolfers plainly on a February 28, 2019, segment from PBS’s NewsHour. “Rich people are...

State & Hill

Catch up on Ford School faculty news in the Spring 2018 edition of State & Hill magazine

May 21, 2018

Michael Barr and Joe Valenti (Center for American Progress) penned a Fortune op-ed: “How the CFPB fight is a sign of the next financial crisis.” Barr also wrote an op-ed in American Banker: “Dear Congress: Reg relief bill is a giveaway for large...

Justin Wolfers’ social media engagement featured in University Record piece

Mar 19, 2018

A March 5 article by Safiya Merchant in The University Record, “#SocialScholars: Professors show power of public engagement,” highlights the growing use of social media among University of Michigan professors. Merchant writes that social media...

Wolfers in New York Times: “Why women’s voices are scarce in economics”

Feb 3, 2018

“For decades, the number of women studying economics seemed to be increasing, easing the persistent scarcity of professional female economists in the United States,” writes Justin Wolfers in his February 2 column, "Why women's voices are scarce in...

State & Hill

Catch up on Ford School faculty news in the Fall 2017 edition of State & Hill magazine

Dec 29, 2017

Tamar Mitts and Robert Axelrod participated in a trilateral workshop on the roots and trajectories of violent extremism. Mitts spoke about the radicalization of Islamic State supporters on social media; Axelrod about the strengths and weaknesses of...

State & Hill

"Discourse: Ford School faculty in the news," from the fall 2017 issue of State & Hill

Dec 25, 2017

With a series of regulatory changes, the Trump administration is taking us in the wrong direction, making student loans riskier, more expensive, and more burdensome for borrowers. Susan Dynarski on "The wrong way to fix student debt." The New...

Stevenson, Wolfers et al urge confirmation of Trump pick for Council of Economic Advisers

Jun 6, 2017

In a recently released letter to the Senate Banking Committee, prominent economists including Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers of the Ford School, have urged the confirmation of American Enterprise Institute (AEI) scholar Kevin Hassett, President...

Wolfers in NYT Upshot: "How Gorsuch could pull the eight other justices rightward"

Apr 5, 2017

Justin Wolfers' April 4, 2017 article for The New York Times' "The Upshot," "How Gorsuch could pull the eight other justices rightward," examines recently published research on the effects of peer-judge ideology on the U.S. Supreme...

Stevenson and Wolfers on tooth fairy inflation and the rising cost of parenting

Mar 22, 2017

Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers were interviewed by NPR’s Planet Money about the implications of inflation on parenting. In the March 17 program, they talk about the rising cost of parenting through the lens of the tooth fairy. According to...

In The Upshot, Wolfers writes: “Why most economists are so worried about Trump”

Jan 12, 2017

In his January 11 article for The New York Times’ “The Upshot,” Justin Wolfers writes, “[A]t the annual conference of economists last weekend in Chicago, the major theme was a sense of anxiety about the incoming Trump administration. This foreboding...

Wolfers on “Trump and Carrier: How a modern economy is like a parking garage.”

Dec 2, 2016

Justin Wolfers offers a tutorial on the contempoary labor market in his latest New York Times Upshot column: “Trump and Carrier: How a modern economy is like a parking garage.” Wolfers’ piece comes after president-elect Donald Trump’s victory lap...

Look to prediction markets for better political insight, says Wolfers in NYT Upshot

Sep 28, 2016

In his most recent column for the New York Times’ Upshot, Justin Wolfers explains how and why political prediction markets may provide more unbiased assessments of presidential debate performances this fall than pundits. Wolfers writes about two...

Betsey Stevenson in Bloomberg View, "Want to help the economy? Learn to trust."

Jul 5, 2016

“It’s hard to know whom you can trust anymore—at least that’s the attitude of many Americans today. Therein lies a crucial challenge for the world’s largest economy,” writes Betsey Stevenson in “Want to Help the Economy? Learn to Trust,” published...

Catch up on faculty news with the Ford School's fall 2015 roundup

Dec 4, 2015

This spring, Robert Axelrod was one of ten distinguished honorary degree recipients at Harvard’s 364th commencement ceremony. The Carnegie Corporation of New York has awarded John Ciorciari its prestigious Andrew Carnegie Fellowship to examine...

Wolfers talks investment behavior in NPR Special Series, "Your Money and Your Life"

Oct 28, 2015

On October 23, Justin Wolfers was quoted in the NPR Special Serices, “Your Money and Your Life,” discussing savings and investment behavior.In the article, “Why Is It So Hard To Save? U.K. Shows It Doesn't Have To Be,” NPR Correspondent Chris...

In government, let hard data judge what works, says Wolfers in NYT Upshot column

Oct 1, 2015

In his most recent column for The New York Times’ Upshot, Justin Wolfers explains how behavioral economics is used to promote government efficiency and effective service delivery.He presents findings from the White House Social and Behavioral...

Will the Ashley Madison hack help or hurt the economy? Justin Wolfers explores in NYT Upshot

Aug 21, 2015

In an August 20 column for The New York Times’ Upshot, Justin Wolfers and Josh Barro ponder the likely economic impact of the recent Ashley Madison leak, which has exposed millions of cases of adultery and is likely to instigate an uptick in divorce...