Edward Conard

Top Ten New York Times Bestselling Author

  • “…reminds us that inequality sends a signal of what society lacks most, in America’s case, entrepreneurship and risk taking.” - Lawrence Lindsey, CEO, The Lindsey Group, former Director of the National Economic Council
  • “…a very valuable contribution.” - Larry Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury and director of the National Economic Council, president emeritus, Harvard University
  • “…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • “Unintended Consequences represents the most cogent and persuasive analysis of the Financial Crisis to date.” - Andrei Shleifer, 1999 John Bates Clark Medal Winner
  • “Unintended Consequences should be read by anyone who takes for granted the superiority of progressive taxation and has not thought carefully about the trade-offs involved.” - The New Republic
  • “…a very valuable contribution.” - Larry Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury and director of the National Economic Council, president emeritus, Harvard University
  • “Unintended Consequences provides a provocative interpretation of the causes of the global financial crisis and the policies needed to return to rapid growth. Whether you agree or not, this analysis is well worth reading.” - Nouriel Roubini, New York University; Chairman, Roubini Global Economics
  • “…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • “…serious thinking for serious thinkers. …a thought-provoking blueprint for growing middle- and working-class incomes.” - Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts
  • “A full-throated defense of economic dynamism.” - The Wall Street Journal
  • “…a comprehensive explanation of the modern economy.” - Julian Robertson, Founder, Tiger Management
  • “Unintended Consequences offers deep and well-argued analyses on almost every issue.” - The New York Times
Upside of Inequality Oxford Unintended Consequences

About Ed Conard

Trade Deficits Funded Debt-Fueled Consumption…

Trade deficits and the mistaken belief that they chiefly fund business investment have led to a debt-fueled increase in American consumption. This surging consumption contributed to the 2008 financial crisis and unsustainable federal deficit spending while doing little to boost domestic production. If the demand for business investment primarily drove trade deficits, real interest rates and trade deficits would rise with the demand for domestic business investment. But since 2000, real interest rates have tended to fall as trade deficits expand—at least until recently. Unproductive spending slows growth, not the means necessary to fund it—greater taxes, interest expense, inflation, and future government spending cuts. Read more.

About Edward Conard

Ed Conard is the author of two top ten New York Times bestselling books, The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class and Unintended Consequences, and a contributor to Oxford University Press’ textbook United States Income, Wealth, Consumption, and Inequality. He also produces the blog, Macro Roundup—a daily summary of significant economic news. He is an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a retired partner of Bain Capital.

Read Ed’s Op-Eds

Ed Conard has written Op-Eds for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Time Magazine, Fortune Magazine, Harvard Business Review, and many other noteworthy publications.

 

See Highlights from Ed’s Blog

Ed has made over 250 media appearances, most notably when he debated Jon Stewart in one of the longest interviews in the Daily Show’s history.

Listen to Ed Debate

In addition to Jon Stewart, Ed Conard has debated Nobel Prizewinning economists Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz; former Chairmen of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Austan Goolsbee, Alan Krueger, and Greg Mankiw; former Congressman Barney Frank; and journalists Fareed Zakaria and Andrew Ross Sorkin, and other thought leaders.

About Ed’s Books

The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class (2016) argues that talent, not capital, constrains growth in high-wage economies and that growing inequality largely stems from innovation that produces higher living standards worldwide. Read an excerpt

The chapter, The Economics of Inequality in High-Wage Economies (2021) argues that the relative success of American innovation, not crony capitalism and monopoly rents, has increased inequality and accelerated America’s growth relative to other high-wage economies. Read the Chapter

Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You’ve Been Told About the Economy Is Wrong (2012) described by Harvard economist Andrei Shleifer as “the most cogent and persuasive analysis of the financial crisis,” debunks misunderstandings about the financial crisis,” debunks misunderstandings about the financial crisis and explains why America continues to grow faster than Europe. Read the PDF

Watch Ed’s Media and TV Appearances

Ed has made more than 250 media appearances, including CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, ABC World News, CBS Morning News, Fox and Friends, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, CNBC’s Squawk Box, Maria Bartiromo, Morning Joe, Bloomberg, BBC, NPR, and many other prominent newscasts.

Read the Reviews

Ed’s books have been reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Business Week, and leading economists Larry Sumers, Tyler Cowen, Greg Mankiw, Steven Levitt, Glenn Hubbard, Nouriel Roubini, and others.

See Ed’s Brainy Quotes

See all quotes

Read the Macro Roundup

The Macro Roundup is a daily summary of significant macroeconomic news produced and freely offered by Ed Conard and his research staff from over 100 sources.

Trade Deficits Funded Debt-Fueled Consumption…

Trade deficits and the mistaken belief that they chiefly fund business investment have led to a debt-fueled increase in American consumption. This surging consumption contributed to the 2008 financial crisis and unsustainable federal deficit spending while doing little to boost domestic production. If the demand for business investment primarily drove trade deficits, real interest rates and trade deficits would rise with the demand for domestic business investment. But since 2000, real interest rates have tended to fall as trade deficits expand—at least until recently. Unproductive spending slows growth, not the means necessary to fund it—greater taxes, interest expense, inflation, and future government spending cuts. Read more.

About Edward Conard

Ed Conard is the author of two top ten New York Times bestselling books, The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class and Unintended Consequences, and a contributor to Oxford University Press’ textbook United States Income, Wealth, Consumption, and Inequality . He also produces the blog, Macro Roundup—a daily summary of significant economic news. He is an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a retired partner of Bain Capital.

See Highlights from Ed’s Blog

Ed has made over 250 media appearances, most notably when he debated Jon Stewart in one of the longest interviews in the Daily Show’s history.

About Ed’s Books

The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class (2016) argues that talent, not capital, constrains growth in high-wage economies and that growing inequality largely stems from innovation that produces higher living standards worldwide. Read an excerpt

The chapter, The Economics of Inequality in High-Wage Economies (2021) argues that the relative success of American innovation, not crony capitalism and monopoly rents, has increased inequality and accelerated America’s growth relative to other high-wage economies. Read the Chapter

Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You’ve Been Told About the Economy Is Wrong (2012) described by Harvard economist Andrei Shleifer as “the most cogent and persuasive analysis of the financial crisis,” debunks misunderstandings about the financial crisis,” debunks misunderstandings about the financial crisis and explains why America continues to grow faster than Europe. Read a free PDF of the book

Listen to Ed Debate

In addition to Jon Stewart, Ed Conard has debates Nobel Prizewinning economists Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz; former Chairmen of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Austan Goolsbee,Alan Krueger, and Greg Mankiw; former Congressman Barney Frank; and journalists Fareed Zakaria and Andrew Ross Sorkin, and other thought leaders.

Read Ed’s Op-Eds

Ed Conard has written Op-Eds for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Time Magazine, Fortune Magazine, Harvard Business Review and many other noteworthy publications.

Read the Reviews

Ed’s books have been reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg Business Week, and leading economists Larry Sumers, Tyler Cowen, Greg Mankiw, Steven Levitt, Glenn Hubbard, Nouriel Roubini, and others.

Watch Ed’s Media and TV Appearances

Ed has made more than 250 media appearances, including CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, ABC World News, CBS Morning News, Fox and Friends, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, CNBC’s Squawk Box, Maria Bartiromo, Moring Joe, Bloomberg, BBC, NPR, and many other prominent newscasts.

See Ed’s Brainy Quotes

    See all quotes

    Read the Macro Roundup

    The Macro Roundup is a daily summary of significant macroeconomic news produced and freely offered by Ed Conard and his research staff from over 100 sources.