Edward Conard

Edward W. Conard
Edward W. Conard
Born	Detroit metropolitan area, United States
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, writer, academic
Known for	Author of The Upside of Inequality and Unintended Consequences; managing director at Bain Capital

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Edward Conard, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 9 August 2025

Edward W. Conard is an American entrepreneur, writer, and academic. He is the author of two New York Times bestselling books: The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class and Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You've Been Told About the Economy Is Wrong. Conard contributes to Oxford University Press' publication United States Income, Wealth, Consumption, and Inequality and produces the daily economic briefing known as the Macro Roundup. He holds the position of adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Earlier in his career, Conard was a managing director at Bain Capital, collaborating closely with former presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

Early life and education

Raised in the Detroit metropolitan area, Conard completed his undergraduate studies with honors at the University of Michigan, earning a BSE degree in Operations Research in 1978. He later obtained an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School in 1982.

Early career and Bain Capital

Prior to attending business school, Conard worked as an automotive engineer at Ford Motor Company. Following graduation, he joined Bain & Company, where he advanced to vice president and headed the industrial division.

In 1990, Conard took on the role of director at Wasserstein Perella & Co., leading its Transaction Development Group.

Conard became part of Bain Capital in 1993, before the firm secured $300 million in private equity funding. As managing director, he oversaw Bain’s New York office as well as its industrial sector operations. Upon his retirement in 2007, Bain Capital had expanded to manage $75 billion in assets with a global presence across major financial hubs. His inaugural acquisition was Waters Corporation, initially valued at $500 million and eventually surpassing $23 billion.

During his tenure at Bain Capital, Conard played a key role in taking Waters Corporation, DDI, ChipPac, Innophos, and Sensata public and served on their boards. He stepped down from Waters Corporation’s board in 2024.

Writing, speaking, and scholarly work

Conard authored two top-ten bestselling nonfiction books on The New York Times list: Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You've Been Told About the Economy Is Wrong and The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class. He contributed to Oxford University Press’ work on United States Income, Wealth, Consumption, and Inequality and curates Macro Roundup, a daily digest highlighting essential economic developments. Following his first book’s release in 2012, he ranked as the tenth most searched author on Google. That same year, Conard joined the American Enterprise Institute as a visiting scholar concentrating on U.S. economic policies—especially taxation, government regulation, and how finance affects innovation and risk-taking.

Unintended Consequences

Released in May 2012, Unintended Consequences was featured on the cover of the New York Times Sunday Magazine and secured a spot among the top ten nonfiction bestsellers of The New York Times.

Despite predictions by The New York Times that it might become "the most hated book of the year," prominent economists such as Greg Mankiw, Andrei Shleifer, Steven Levitt, Nouriel Roubini, Tyler Cowen, and Glenn Hubbard publicly supported it. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal praised it as "a vigorous defense of economic dynamism…refreshing at a time when many take capitalism's failure for granted." The book posits that rising income inequality reflects economic success rather than failure. It explores why the United States has outpaced other high-wage economies, examines causes behind the financial crisis, and proposes strategies to accelerate growth. Conard provided a 23-minute video summary for The UP Experience.

Since its publication, Conard has appeared on television over 250 times debating notable economists such as Paul Krugman, Joe Stiglitz, Alan Krueger, Austan Goolsbee, and Jared Bernstein; journalists including Fareed Zakaria, Chris Hayes, and Andrew Ross Sorkin; as well as politicians like Barney Frank, Howard Dean, and Eliot Spitzer. He also engaged in a 33-minute discussion with Jon Stewart—one of Stewart’s lengthiest interviews—with nearly 100,000 views online. Additionally, Conard has authored opinion pieces for publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Harvard Business Review, Fortune, and Politico.

The Upside of Inequality

In September 2016, Conard released The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class. Upon publication, the book entered The New York Times top ten non-fiction list at position eight and later ascended to number one on its business books chart.

Esteemed economists offered favorable evaluations of the work. Larry Summers, former president of Harvard University, acknowledged it as "a very valuable contribution" that enhances economic discourse despite his differing views. Tyler Cowen, a noted economist, commended Conard’s thesis that risk-bearing equity capital represents the scarce resource in most economies, describing the book as both thought-provoking and perceptive. Harvard economist Greg Mankiw not only recommended the volume but also conducted an interview with Conard on C-SPAN. Additional prominent economists such as David Autor, George Borjas, and Larry Lindsey expressed their support for the book. National Review praised it as an enthusiastic affirmation of conservative perspectives on how markets and incentives foster economic prosperity.

The Economics of Inequality in High-Wage Economies

In 2021, Conard contributed the final chapter titled “The Economics of Inequality in High-Wage Economies” to the Oxford University textbook United States, Income Wealth, Consumption, and Inequality. This chapter revisits and updates his earlier assertions that income inequality is predominantly merit-based and serves as a catalyst for middle-class earnings growth in the U.S., especially when contrasted with other high-wage nations. His analysis draws upon more than 100 scholarly references.

Macro Roundup

Starting in 2022, Conard and his research team have produced a daily, nonpartisan digest summarizing essential economic news and academic findings. The Macro Roundup offers continuous insights through a complimentary newsletter and an accessible searchable archive that includes entries dating back before 2022.

Political activities

In March 2011, Conard made an anonymous $1 million donation to a super PAC supporting Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential bid through W Spann LLC, a shell entity. He publicly revealed this contribution in August 2011 amid ensuing public scrutiny.

Personal life

Conard is married to Jill Davis, who is both an author and a former writer for the Late Show with David Letterman.

External links