About

Simon Bowmaker is a Distinguished Clinical Professor at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, where he teaches economics across undergraduate, full-time, part-time, and executive MBA programs. His teaching has been recognized with awards including Stern’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Pedagogical Innovation in 2011, and he was named in Poets & Quants’ inaugural 2017 list of “Top 40 Undergraduate Business Professors” across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Additionally, he received a Great Professor award from the NYU Stern Executive MBA Class of 2024. Outside of his teaching responsibilities, Professor Bowmaker studies the working lives of economists to understand their contributions to the field and society. This research has led to his authorship of several books, including 'When the President Calls: Conversations with Economic Policymakers,' 'The Art and Practice of Economics Research: Lessons from Leading Minds,' and 'The Heart of Teaching Economics: Lessons from Leading Minds.' His first book, 'Economics Uncut: A Complete Guide to Life, Death and Misadventure,' applied economics to controversial and unconventional markets. His upcoming book, 'Fed Reckoning: Conversations on America’s Central Bank,' scheduled for publication in 2025, is under contract with Yale University Press. His work has been featured in prominent publications such as The New York Times, Forbes, Business Insider, and Nature. Prior to his tenure at Stern, he taught at the University of Edinburgh and held visiting positions at several institutions including Florida State University, University of Colorado Denver, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Queensland University of Technology. He has also taught at the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, Imperial College London, and the London School of Economics. His academic background includes 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.

Research topics

• Economics
• Sociology
• Political science
• Neoclassical economics
• History

Selected publications

• Trump Fed pick Kevin Warsh could shake up the central bank with his ‘family fight’ model

  2026-03-31

  article1st authorCorresponding
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• When the President Calls: Conversations with Economic Policymakers

  2019-10-15

  book1st authorCorresponding

  Interviews with thirty-five economic policymakers who advised presidents from Nixon to Trump.What is it like to sit in the Oval Office and discuss policy with the president? To know that the decisions made will affect hundreds of millions of people? To know that the wrong advice could be calamitous? When the President Calls presents interviews with thirty-five economic policymakers who served presidents from Nixon to Trump. These officials worked in the executive branch in a variety of capacities?the Council of Economic Advisers, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of the Treasury, and the National Economic Council?but all had direct access to the policymaking process and can offer insights about the difficult tradeoffs made on economic policy. The interviews shed new light, for example, on the thinking behind the Reagan tax cuts, the economic factors that cost George H. W. Bush a second term, the constraints facing policymakers during the financial crisis of 2008, the differences in work styles between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and the Trump administration's early budget process.When the President Calls offers a unique, behind-the-scenes perspective on US economic policymaking, with specific and personal detail?the turmoil, the personality clashes, the enormous pressure of trying to do the right thing while the clock is ticking.Interviews withNicholas F. Brady, Lael Brainard, W. Michael Blumenthal, Michael J. Boskin, Stuart E. Eizenstat, Martin S. Feldstein, Stephen Friedman, Jason Furman, Austan D. Goolsbee, Alan Greenspan, Kevin A. Hassett, R. Glenn Hubbard, Alan B. Krueger, Arthur B. Laffer, Edward P. Lazear, Jacob J. Lew, N. Gregory Mankiw, David C. Mulford, John Michael Mulvaney, Paul H. O'Neill, Peter R. Orszag, Henry M. Paulson, Alice M. Rivlin, Harvey S. Rosen, Robert E. Rubin, George P. Shultz, Charles L. Schultze, John W. Snow, Gene B. Sperling, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Lawrence H. Summers, John B. Taylor, Paul A. Volcker, Murray L. Weidenbaum, Janet L. Yellen

  Publisher

• When the President Calls

  The MIT Press eBooks · 2019-10-15 · 1 citations

  book1st authorCorresponding

  Interviews with thirty-five economic policymakers who advised presidents from Nixon to Trump. What is it like to sit in the Oval Office and discuss policy with the president? To know that the decisions made will affect hundreds of millions of people? To know that the wrong advice could be calamitous? When the President Calls presents interviews with thirty-five economic policymakers who served presidents from Nixon to Trump. These officials worked in the executive branch in a variety of capacities—the Council of Economic Advisers, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of the Treasury, and the National Economic Council—but all had direct access to the policymaking process and can offer insights about the difficult tradeoffs made on economic policy. The interviews shed new light, for example, on the thinking behind the Reagan tax cuts, the economic factors that cost George H. W. Bush a second term, the constraints facing policymakers during the financial crisis of 2008, the differences in work styles between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and the Trump administration's early budget process. When the President Calls offers a unique, behind-the-scenes perspective on US economic policymaking, with specific and personal detail—the turmoil, the personality clashes, the enormous pressure of trying to do the right thing while the clock is ticking. Interviews with Nicholas F. Brady, Lael Brainard, W. Michael Blumenthal, Michael J. Boskin, Stuart E. Eizenstat, Martin S. Feldstein, Stephen Friedman, Jason Furman, Austan D. Goolsbee, Alan Greenspan, Kevin A. Hassett, R. Glenn Hubbard, Alan B. Krueger, Arthur B. Laffer, Edward P. Lazear, Jacob J. Lew, N. Gregory Mankiw, David C. Mulford, John Michael Mulvaney, Paul H. O'Neill, Peter R. Orszag, Henry M. Paulson, Alice M. Rivlin, Harvey S. Rosen, Robert E. Rubin, George P. Shultz, Charles L. Schultze, John W. Snow, Gene B. Sperling, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Lawrence H. Summers, John B. Taylor, Paul A. Volcker, Murray L. Weidenbaum, Janet L. Yellen

  PublisherDOI

• Bricks, Mortar, and Wedding Bells: Does the Cost of Housing Affect the Marriage Rate in the US?

  Eastern Economic Journal · 2014-09-22 · 6 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
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• Ariel Pakes (Harvard University)

  Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2012-09-30

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• Preface

  Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2012-09-30

  book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This book contains 25 interviews with leading economists who are based in the United States and Europe.They are asked to reflect introspectively on their methods of working; provide insights into the process of scientific discovery, knowledge creation, and research dissemination in economics; and identify and evaluate specific contributions and findings from the discipline.The intended reader is someone at any stage of a research career in economics, whether you are a graduate student or a well-established scholar.The interviewees were selected on several criteria, the most important of which were prominence within the economics profession, as measured by academic awards and citations, and diversity, as proxied by age, gender, research interests, research style, and institution.The interviews were all conducted face-to-face at 13 locations in the United States over the period June 2010 to August 2011.Compiling this book was a deeply enriching and pleasurable experience.First and foremost, I learned an enormous amount about the work habits of some of the world's greatest economists.Second, it was an unexpected lesson in the complexities of the human condition.Failure, rejection, disappointment, frustration, courage, perseverance, and triumph are characteristics that burn brightly throughout this volume.Therefore, I hope that you find these interviews not only fascinating and stimulating, but also inspirational.

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• Monika Piazzesi (Stanford University)

  Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2012-09-30 · 1 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
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• Partha Dasgupta (University of Cambridge)

  Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2012-09-30

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Carmen M. Reinhart (Peterson Institute for International Economics)

  Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2012-09-30 · 7 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Contents

  Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2012-09-30

  paratextOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Patrick M. Emerson

  8 shared

• Bruce L. Benson

  Florida State University

  4 shared

• Frank Heiland

  Baruch College

  2 shared

• Mark Thornton

  2 shared

• Ronnie J. Phillips

  Colorado State University

  2 shared

• Richard D. Johnson

  University of Florida

  2 shared

• Jeffrey A. Miron

  Harvard University Press

  1 shared

Awards & honors

• Stern’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Pedagogical Innovat…
• Poets & Quants’ inaugural 2017 list of “Top 40 Undergraduate…
• Great Professor award from the NYU Stern Executive MBA Class…