Wolfers is an economist with broad policy-related interests and experience. He is also affiliated with the NBER, Brookings and the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He is a contributing columnist for the New York Times and host of the “Think Like An Economist” podcast. He is a popular teacher and author of a leading economics textbook.
From A.I. to zero emissions
Ford School faculty host and are featured in a variety of podcasts, covering policy topics from artificial intelligence, everyday economics, national security, and more.
My job has always been to demonstrate to...
The collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) set off alarms in the financial sector, with flashbacks to the 2008 financial crisis and increased worries about an impending recession. Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers, both professors of public...
Justin Wolfers, WDIV: "My summary is what a little ripper. Last month, we were extraordinary. So we aren't extraordinary two months in a row, we're merely very good. This is the sort of job growth that maybe we've gotten used to over the past couple...
Justin Wolfers, BBC: "The best forecast for the future state of the economy is the current state and the current state is good. There's a recessionary vibe, but there's no recessionary...
The average amount the Tooth Fairy gives children has jumped by 16%, to $6.23. Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics, discussed the economics behind the rise.
"The children of America are getting what their parents are not:...
As concerns about the economy continue, one economist is optimistic. Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics, recently talked with NPR to discuss his economic analysis and predictions.
"You're talking to an economist who is going...
Justin Wolfers, NPR: "We're celebrating unemployment being at a 50-year low. This is only three years after the scariest economic moment of my lifetime. If you had said in three short years we'll yield an unemployment rate that earlier generations...
The U.S. economic recovery from the significant setbacks of the pandemic has seen inflationary pressure from supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine, among other factors. Justin Wolfers, Ford School professor of public policy and...
Justin Wolfers, Michigan Radio: "The U.S. economy is now creating jobs at a rate that is unimaginably positive. 2022 was the second fastest rate of job creation in American...
Justin Wolfers, Vox: "If you want a dramatic one-word answer, the answer is yes. Unemployment’s at a 50-year low, that’s the standard metric for thinking about how the economy is performing. Job growth is continuing, so it’s not only good, it’s...
Justin Wolfers, WDET 101.9: "Inflation was distressing. Right now, it may still be a little distressing. The future looks like it's going to be a whole lot less distressing. The Fed's worried because inflation still is above its target level. It...
Justin Wolfers, One News Page: "The person who raises your credit card limit is the credit card company. It's the lender. Speaker McCarthy is part of the government. The government is the borrower. The only choice the borrower makes, and we all face...
Justin Wolfers, In the Bubble: "(Inflation’s) almost certainly peaked. That’s the mainstream view among both Wall Street and academic economists right now. The Fed’s own forecasts show that it expects inflation to fall relatively dramatically over...
Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics, recently sat down with the International Monetary Fund, arguing that the time is now to reimagine institutions that foster social cohesion.
"The COVID moment has been and still is an...
Justin Wolfers, CNN: "I tell my students, 'Go ahead and borrow.' And that might sound like counter-intuitive advice from an economist, but here's how I want you to think about it: Go ahead and borrow money from that part of your life when you're...
Justin Wolfers, Washington Post: "That amounts to about one-third of 1 percent of the total separations in a month. Large numbers of separations are actually the norm in the U.S. economy. I think that there is a tendency for the human brain to look...
Justin Wolfers, NPR: "Corporations have celebrated higher prices in their earnings calls ever since the history of the earnings call. Blaming inflation on greed is like blaming a plane crash on gravity. Corporations have always tried to raise prices...
Leading up to and following the midterm elections, Ford School faculty provided their expertise on pertinent issues, ranging from redistricting to the economy to voter priorities.
Justin Wolfers discussed the logic behind betting on elections in...
Justin Wolfers, The Chronicle of Higher Education: Justin Wolfers, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor who has written about gender issues in the field for The New York Times, said the conversation...
Justin Wolfers, WDIV: "One level more complicated, and another level much simpler. Which is, as of right now, the U.S. economy is not in a recession. Last time we talked, the U.S. economy wasn't in a recession, and the U.S. economy hasn't been...
Justin Wolfers, CNN: "What I found most interesting is that she sort of tried to implement a – supply side would be one word, Reaganesque would be another word – set of policies. That, of course, is very much what certain wings of the Republican...
Ford School professor Justin Wolfers, an expert economist, recently joined the International Monetary Fund as a panelist to discuss the current economy and how to boost resiliency.
"I just wanted to offer a moment of rhetorical reframing because...
Betsey Stevenson, Brookings: "If we can get demand down, we will indeed see that passed through to lower prices, which means the Fed just has to do more. Across the board on average the price of services is rocketing up. And that’s where the Fed is...
As economic worries continue, Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics, provided his expert opinion on inflation and the economy.
“The thing that’s hurting people of course is inflation," he said. “This has been a key goal of the...
As inflation rates continue to rise and the Federal Reserve attempts to orchestrate a soft landing, many Americans are left wondering when prices will stop increasing. Ford School Professor Justin Wolfers talked to multiple national media outlets...
Ford School economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers are called upon regularly to comment on breaking economic news and trends. In addition to their teaching and active research portfolios, they lend their expertise to news outlets around the...
Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics, has made numerous appearances in the media recently, providing his expertise on the current state of our economy. Here is a compilation of his recent contributions:
'Both a warning and a...