10 Leading Consumer Economics Experts in 2024

It’s hard to plan for the future if you don’t know where you are today. That common-sense assertion is why consumer economics experts are essential to understanding the financial landscape. They do the hard work of data and information analysis, so we don’t have to.

Consumer economists study how consumers make economic choices, examining how household consumption data, financial information, and consumer preferences influence market decisions. They ask questions that directly affect family economic well-being and can recommend how to get the most for your money.

No matter what economic area you’re interested in, an economist on this list has analyzed and explained it in terms everyone can understand.

#1 Expert for Public Policy

Joseph Stiglitz won the Nobel Prize in 2007 for his work as lead author of the 1995 “Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change” on the intersection of economics and environmental issues.

His research has also focused on income distribution, corporate governance, public policy, macroeconomics, and globalization.

Stiglitz is Founder and Co-President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University.

Why We Recommend Joseph Stiglitz

Stiglitz’s new book, “The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society,” examines how political ideology influences our economic system.

We appreciate the work because it analyzes the pitfalls of economic freedom and calls on readers to reevaluate their political choices.

Key Info

• Professional affiliations: University Professor and Founder and Co-President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University
• On the web here
• Essential publication: “The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society” (Amazon / B&N)
• Socials: X

#1 Expert for Social Justice

It’s no secret that variations in economic systems lead to different social outcomes. Americans have a choice in how they arrange their society.

Nobel laureate James Heckman‘s researches examines the origins of inequality, social mobility, discrimination, skill formation, and regulation, questioning the ability of current strategies to address those problems.

Why We Recommend James Heckman

Heckman won the Nobel Prize in 2000 for work measuring the economics of diversity and heterogeneity relating to public policy evaluation.

Much of his research examines how economic circumstances influence skill development and can lead to social inequality and lack of social mobility.

Key Info

• Professional affiliations: Professor of Economics, Co-Founder of the Harris School of Public Policy, and Director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development at the University of Chicago
• On the web here
• Essential publication: “Giving Kids a Fair Chance” (Amazon / B&N)
• Socials: LinkedIn / X

#1 Expert for Financial Literacy

Annamaria Lusardi is one of the most cited authors on financial literacy.

As the Founder and Academic Director of the Global Financial Literacy Center, she’s been instrumental in establishing criteria for what works and what doesn’t in financial education.

Media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Forbes, and CNBC feature her research regularly.

Why We Recommend Annamaria Lusardi 

Look for Lusardi’s upcoming textbook, “Personal Finance and Financial Literacy for the 21st Century,” which will provide a deep dive into the fundamentals of financial education.

We appreciate how Lusardi’s work has established a theoretical basis for strategies to improve financial literacy.

Key Info

• Professional affiliations: Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and Director of the Initiative for Financial Decision-Making at Stanford University; Founder and Academic Director of the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center
• On the web here
• Essential publication: “Personal Finance and Financial Literacy for the 21st Century,” with Audrey Brown and Dorothy Wallace (textbook under contract with Oxford University Press)
• Socials: LinkedIn / X

#1 Expert for Economics and Psychology

Economists spend much time measuring and analyzing how we behave as consumers. Research by George Loewenstein aims to answer the why questions.

Loewenstein helped establish the field of research known as behavioral economics and the field of neuroeconomics to examine why people make their economic choices.

Why We Recommend George Loewenstein

Much of Loewenstein’s research applies psychology to economics to analyze everything from beliefs to attention, learning, motivational states, choices, emotions, curiosity, and conflict.

We appreciate that his work seeks to understand how patterns of human behavior influence economic decisions and social structures.

Key Info

• Professional affiliation: Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Economics and Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University
• On the web here
• Essential publication: “Exotic Preferences: Behavioral Economics and Human Motivation” (Amazon / B&N)

#1 Expert for Labor Market Trends

The economy is a job generator. Richard B. Freeman‘s work takes a high-level view of the economic intricacies of the labor market.

Freeman’s research interests include careers in sciences and engineering, how scientific ideas become economic innovations, labor markets in China and Korea, and the effects of AI and robots on the job market.

He has researched labor market representation and employee ownership.

Why We Recommend Richard B. Freeman

Freeman’s book, “The Citizen’s Share: Reducing Inequality in the 21st Century,” is about employee ownership of business.

We appreciate the book’s sound argument favoring employee ownership as an engine for restoring the middle class.

Key Info

• Professional affiliations: Herbert Ascherman Chair in Economics at Harvard University, Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and Faculty Co-Director of the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School
• On the web here
• Essential publication: “The Citizen’s Share: Reducing Inequality in the 21st Century,” with Joseph R. Blasi and Douglas L. Kruse (Amazon / B&N)

#1 Expert for Education

Much of Orazio Attanasio‘s research has focused on inequalities associated with economic development in different parts of the world.

He has examined the effectiveness of education financing and access programs, including large conditional cash transfer programs. He has also examined how scholarships influence school enrollment and how social expectations affect educational outcomes.

Why We Recommend Orazio Attanasio

A free market may not be the most effective model for investing in a society’s future.

We appreciate how Attanasio’s work establishes benchmarks for effective social investment in child development, education, and job training.

Key Info

• Professional affiliations: Cowles Professor of Economics at Yale University, Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, Senior Fellow at the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development, Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic and Policy Research
• On the web here
• Essential publication: “Inequality in Living Standards Since 1980,” with Erich Battistin and Mario Padula (Amazon)
• Socials: X

#1 Expert for Financial Inclusion

Asli Demirguc-Kunt has contributed to global financial inclusion in her career at the World Bank by examining the links between financial development, firm performance, and economic development.

The World Bank provides loans and grants to nations to pursue capital projects. Demirguc-Kunt has conducted research on banking and financial crises, financial regulation, financial inclusion, and small-business finance and entrepreneurship.

Why We Recommend Asli Demirguc-Kunt

The global economy is interconnected by global flows of goods, services, capital, people, data, and ideas. Demirguc-Kunt has contributed to the Global Findex Database, which provides data on international access to financial services.

She also served as co-editor of a collection of articles, “Banking the World: Empirical Foundations of Financial Inclusion,” which provided much helpful information on financial inclusion.

Key Info

• Professional affiliation: Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Global Development, former Chief Economist of the Europe and Central Asia region at the World Bank
• On the web here
• Essential publication: “Banking the World: Empirical Foundations of Financial Inclusion,” edited by Demirguc-Kunt, Robert Cull, and Jonathan Morduch (Amazon / B&N)
• Socials: LinkedIn / X

#1 Expert for Social Cooperation

Paul Seabright has examined many economic topics, including microeconomic theory, industry and competition, intellectual property in the digital age, development economics, human evolution, gender, and religion.

A common theme in his work is the link between the foundations of human cooperation and social trust. Humans have evolved over eons, and Seabright is interested in how our prehistoric traits interact with modern institutions.

Why We Recommend Paul Seabright

Seabright’s new book, “The Divine Economy: How Religions Compete for Wealth, Power and People,” looks at the intersection of economics and religion to assess how religions organize themselves to become more influential.

It’s a deep dive into religions as “platforms” that consolidate diverse community interests for sometimes conflicting goals.

Key Info

• Professional affiliation: IAST/TSE Research Faculty Professor of Economics, Toulouse School of Economics
• On the web here
• Essential publication: “The Divine Economy: How Religions Compete for Wealth, Power and People” (Amazon / B&N)

#1 Expert for Predicting Financial Markets

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are watchwords in our technological age.

Some of American economist David Easley‘s most recent work examines machine learning’s ability to assess mathematical tools that analyze the movements of financial markets.

The work implies that future market movements are predictable despite their information density and high volatility.

Why We Recommend David Easley

With Jon Kleinberg, Easley published “Networks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning about a Highly Connected World,” which uses various tools to understand social networks and behavior.

We appreciate Easley’s multidisciplinary approach to understanding modern society’s complexities.

Key Info

• Professional affiliation: Henry Scarborough Professor of Social Science at Cornell University
• On the web here
• Essential publication: “Networks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning about a Highly Connected World” (Amazon / B&N)

#1 Expert for Social Economics

Rachel Kranton is a social economist, which means she studies how institutions and the social setting affect economic outcomes. Her research has impacted microeconomics, economic development, and industrial organization.

Social economists look at how and why social networks form. Kranton incorporates theories of identity into her work to explain economic activity.

Why We Recommend Rachel Kranton

Kranton’s book, “Identity Economics: How Our Identities Shape Our Work, Wages, and Well-Being,” which she authored with George A. Akerlof, explains that social identities may influence our decisions more than abstract economic incentives.

Our self-concepts and goals govern how hard we work and how we learn, spend, and save. Kranton’s insights powerfully remind us that economic decision-making is profoundly irrational.

Key Info

• Professional affiliation: James B. Duke Professor of Economics, Duke University
• On the web here
• Essential publication: “Identity Economics: How Our Identities Shape Our Work, Wages, and Well-Being,” with George A. Akerlof (Amazon / B&N)

The academic world is known for its opacity, meaning researchers often express complex ideas in complex terms. While the consumer economists on this list are all Ph.Ds, they have all strived to communicate their ideas beyond the classroom and their academic peers, reaching out in public forums and contributing to policy discussions.

They exemplify the ideal of citizen scholars using the tools of their trade to examine social problems and propose solutions.

Investigating a problem from various perspectives is the best way to arrive at a satisfactory solution. We hope the work of these leading consumer economics experts inspires you to take a fresh look at your world.