Hello, I am a Clinical Professor of Economics at the Stern School of Business, New York University, where I teach a broad range of applied microeconomics courses in the undergraduate and MBA programs. Prior to joining NYU in 2007, I taught for several years at the University of Edinburgh, and held visiting teaching positions at Florida State University, State University of New York at Buffalo, University of Colorado Denver, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Queensland University of Technology. Whilst at NYU, I have also taught at the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, Imperial College London, and the London School of Economics and Political Science.  

Outside of the classroom, I study the working lives of economists to understand their contribution to the field and to society as a whole. This interest has led to my three most recent books, When the President Calls: Conversations with Economic Policymakers (MIT Press, 2019), The Art and Practice of Economics Research: Lessons from Leading Minds (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012), and The Heart of Teaching Economics: Lessons from Leading Minds (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010). My first book, Economics Uncut: A Complete Guide to Life, Death, and Misadventure (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005), applied economics to controversial and unconventional markets. My current book project, Fed Reckoning: Conversations on America’s Central Bank, is under contract with Yale University Press.  

Before pursuing an academic career, I worked as an economist in the UK at HSBC Markets, the Government Economic Service, and Cambridge Econometrics. I received an MA in Economics from the University of Aberdeen, an MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in Economics from the University of St Andrews.

I was born and raised in Sunderland, England, and remain a die-hard fan of the Black Cats.   

“Simon Bowmaker's conversations with 35 economic advisers to presidents from Nixon to Trump brings the history and economics of the past 50 years to life in the most accessible way.”

–Chris Giles, Economics Editor, Financial Times

Review: Ehsan Masood, ‘The dangers of fringe economics,’ Nature, January 13, 2020

Janet Yellen interview reference: Jeanna Smialek, ‘Janet Yellen’s Expected Pick, Has Broken More Than Gender Barriers,’ The New York Times, November 23, 2020

“In this book, Simon Bowmaker offers a remarkable collection of conversations with leading economists about research in economics. He has selected a broad sample of the great economists of our time, including people whose perspective span most of the major subdivisions of economics research, from micro to macro, from theoretical to empirical, from rationalist to behavioral.”

- From the foreword by Roger B. Myerson, University of Chicago, USA and 2007 Nobel Laureate in Economics 

"Everyone remembers their favourite teacher.  The testimonies recorded here provide a great insight into the minds of some of the most popular and successful to have graced a lecture hall.  The range of styles is wide, but the theme of inspiration is common to all.  This book will be of tremendous interest to any aspiring teacher.  It will also appeal to anyone that wonders why their inspiration to understand economics still burns brightly so many years after their last lecture." 

- Mervyn A. King, Governor of the Bank of England (2003-2013)

"If you thought you could hide your secrets from the prying eyes of economists, think again. From sex to drugs to gambling to crime, this book will show you how the tools of economics can be used to understand just about any human behavior. This book will assuredly be the unofficial economist’s guide to vice for the foreseeable future." 

–Steven D. Levitt, University of Chicago and co-author of Freakonomics