Areas of expertise
Macroeconomics • Globalization • Social insurance • Public investment
Biography
Josh Bivens is the chief economist at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). His areas of research include macroeconomics, inequality, social insurance, public investment, and the economics of globalization.
Bivens has written extensively for both professional and public audiences, with his work appearing in peer-reviewed academic journals (like the Journal of Economic Perspectives) and edited volumes (like The Handbook of the Political Economy of Financial Crises from Oxford University Press), as well as in popular print outlets (like USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times).
Bivens is the author of Failure by Design: The Story behind America’s Broken Economy (EPI and Cornell University Press) and Everybody Wins Except for Most of Us: What Economics Really Teaches About Globalization (EPI), and is a co-author of The State of Working America, 12th Edition (EPI and Cornell University Press).
Bivens has provided expert insight to a range of institutions and media, including formally testifying numerous times before committees of the U.S. Congress.
Before coming to EPI, he was an assistant professor of economics at Roosevelt University. He has a Ph.D. in economics from the New School for Social Research and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Education
Ph.D., Economics, New School for Social Research
B.A., Economics, University of Maryland at College Park
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The stock market is not the economy, but this time they really are sinking together
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Deliberate policy decisions have disempowered workers and increased labor market inequality: The new State of Working America Data Library shows the latest trends in productivity, wages, labor markets, unionization, and CEO pay
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The right wing has always had an asymmetric power to destroy—DOGE makes it much worse
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The macroeconomics of the Trump administration: Chaotic and harmful policies will make the United States poorer—either rapidly or gradually
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Cutting Medicaid to pay for low taxes on the rich is a terrible trade for American families
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The era of cheap cynicism about government is over
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Before DOGE, the debt ceiling used to be the only quick way political extremists could cause a financial crisis
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The House Republicans’ plan to cut Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the rich would slash incomes for the bottom 40%: See impact by state
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There will be pain: Continuing low tax rates for the rich and corporations will hurt working families
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Tariffs—Everything you need to know but were afraid to ask
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DOGE is not worth engaging. You can’t cut your way to a federal government that does more.
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News from EPI › Federal funding freeze risks throwing the U.S. economy into chaos
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President-elect Trump is inheriting a historically strong economy
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Hurricanes’ impact will distort Friday’s jobs report, but there’s no reason to be spooked about the labor market
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Seven reasons why today’s economy is historically strong
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Policy choices did not cause recent years’ inflation—but did deliver strong wage growth
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The U.S. benefits from immigration but policy reforms needed to maximize gains: Recommendations and a review of key issues to ensure fair wages and labor standards for all workers
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The post-pandemic recovery is an economic policy success story: Policymakers took the best way through a rocky path
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Federal AI legislation: An evaluation of existing proposals and a road map forward
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CEO pay declined in 2023: But it has soared 1,085% since 1978 compared with a 24% rise in typical workers’ pay
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Why the Fed should cut interest rates this week
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Real median household income rose sharply in 2023—a testament to the strength of the economic recovery
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The labor market remains strong yet the Fed should cut rates in September
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Profits and price inflation are indeed linked
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Vouchers undermine efforts to provide an excellent public education for all
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Economic performance is stronger when Democrats hold the White House
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Unbalanced labor market power is what makes technology—including AI—threatening to workers: The best “AI policy” to protect workers is boosting their bargaining position
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Don’t wait on wage growth—the Fed should cut rates at this week’s meeting
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There’s no debate: Measurable income inequality has skyrocketed in recent decades
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The teacher shortage shows small signs of improvement, but it remains widespread