Brookings appoints Jón Steinsson as incoming co-editor of the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Brookings Institution has named Jón Steinsson (University of California, Berkeley) as the incoming co-editor of the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA). Steinsson will join co-editor Janice Eberly (Northwestern University) and replace co-editor James Stock (Harvard University) in the fall of 2023.  

Steinsson is the Chancellor’s Professor of Economics at University of California, Berkeley; a research associate and co-director of the Monetary Economics program of the National Bureau of Economic Research; and associate editor of both the Quarterly Journal of Economics and Econometrica. Prior to joining the Berkeley faculty, Steinsson was a professor of economics at Columbia University. His main area of research is empirical macroeconomics with a focus on understanding the effects of monetary and fiscal policy as well as more broadly understanding business cycles. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. 

Announcing the news, Stephanie Aaronson, Vice President and Director of the Economic Studies program at Brookings said, “We are very excited that Jón is joining as a co-editor. He is one of the leading macroeconomists of his generation, and his work brings together exactly the mix of academic rigor and policy relevance that is the hallmark of BPEA.” 

Steinsson will be co-editor alongside current co-editor Janice Eberly, the Senior Associate Dean for Strategy and Academics and James R. and Helen D. Russell Professor of Finance at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She has been a co-editor of BPEA since 2015. Prior to joining Northwestern University, she was a faculty member in finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Eberly has also served as assistant secretary for economic policy at the U.S. Treasury, on the staff of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, and on the advisory committees of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In addition, she has been an associate editor of the American Economic Review and other academic journals. Eberly received her Ph.D. in economics from MIT. 

Commenting on the appointment, Eberly said, “Jón is among the leading young macroeconomists in economics today, with a commitment to developing timely and important research on the urgent policy issues we face. Jón brings fresh ideas and focus to our work at BPEA, and I am thrilled to work with him.” 

Steinsson will replace James Stock, who has co-edited the journal with Eberly since 2015. Stock is the vice provost for climate and sustainability, the director of the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, and the Harold Hitchings Burbank Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University. He is also a member of the faculty at the Harvard Kennedy School. He joined BPEA soon after serving as a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2013-2014. 

Aaronson praised Stock’s tenure as BPEA co-editor, noting “Jim embodies the spirit of evidence-based policymaking that animates BPEA. Jim is a renowned economist as well as a dedicated public servant. Under his collaboration with Jan, BPEA thrived. Their leadership during the pandemic was particularly notable. They immediately responded to the urgent need for innovative research that investigated COVID’s early impact on the economy, by dedicating the summer and fall 2020 issues to COVID-related research. The summer issue was an unprecedented addition to BPEA’s publishing schedule. We thank him very much for his service and wish him the best of luck as he takes up new opportunities, focusing his energy on the crucial issue of combatting climate change.” 

Founded in 1970 by Arthur Okun and George Perry, BPEA is a semi-annual academic conference and journal that pairs rigorous research with real-time policy analysis to address the most urgent economic challenges of the day. The authors and discussants of the articles are distinguished economists from leading universities and institutions, including 24 Nobel Prize winners.