Neil Irwin

Neil Irwin is an award-winning journalist and author who focuses his writing on economics, finance, and public policy. He has written dozens of notable essays and books, and his work has been featured in numerous major publications. Irwin is a senior economics correspondent for The New York Times, a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and a contributing editor to Bloomberg Businessweek, where he is also the origination policy editor for the magazine.

Irwin earned his Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from George Washington University and his Master’s degree in International Economics from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. While at Johns Hopkins, Irwin studied under Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. Irwin’s book, The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire, explores the workings of the world’s most important monetary institutions—the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank—during the depths of the late-2000s financial crisis.

His next book, How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street: World’s Simplest Guide to Personal Finance, is a best-selling, practical how-to guide for personal finance. The book demystifies the complexities of significant financial topics, such as investing, tax law, and retirement savings, fast finance, and understanding employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Irwin is also the author of The Titanic Effect: Successfully Navigating the Uncertaintiesthat Sink Most Start-Ups, a pioneering text which helps entrepreneurs and executives determine which venture fails and which thrive. Based on extensive research, it shows that reducing uncertainty can “unjam the gearshift” that stalls growth, and examines key strategies for mitigating risk and uncertainty. Likewise, Irwin co-authored Connecting the Dots: The Value of Economic News on Financial Markets, a text which provides insights into the relationship between the news media and financial markets, drawing upon in-depth interviews with media executives and Wall Street traders.

Irwin’s work has covered a wide range of topics, including financial reform, inflation, the fortunes of macroeconomic policy, and the struggles of the middle class. He was a major contributor to the series of articles, “The Great Divide,” which won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2013. He is also the co-author of the book, US Economy in Crisis: On the Brink of a (Second) Great Depression?, which explores the causes and solutions of the Great Recession.

Overall, Neil Irwin is a renowned author and journalist whose work sheds light on the often confusing and complex realms of economics, finance and public policy. With a deep understanding of global financial markets and a knack for making difficult concepts digestible to the general public, his engaging narrative style brings these issues to life. More than anything, Irwin offers concrete solutions to challenging economic situations, and his books give readers the tools they need to make informed decisions and understand their finances.