Noah Smith (writer)
Noah Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | United States |
| Occupation(s) | Economic commentator, blogger, former assistant professor |
| Known for | Noahpinion newsletter, Bloomberg columnist |
Noah Smith is an American economic commentator and blogger who discusses economics and current affairs. Previously, he served as an assistant professor specializing in behavioral finance at Stony Brook University. Smith authors his own Substack newsletter, Noahpinion, and has contributed articles to outlets including Bloomberg, Quartz, the Associated Press, Business Insider, and The Atlantic. In 2021, he departed from Bloomberg to dedicate himself fully to his Substack publication.
Graduate school
Smith completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 2003 before shifting his focus to economics with the aim of becoming an economic analyst. During his graduate studies, he began blogging on Google's Blogger platform, where he quickly gained attention from notable economists such as J. Bradford DeLong, Mark Thoma, and Paul Krugman. Alongside his advisor, Miles Kimball, he also contributed to Quartz. Smith obtained his PhD in Economics from the University of Michigan in 2012 and subsequently joined Stony Brook University as an assistant professor.
Smith identifies as Jewish.
Career
While holding his position as assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook, Smith was invited to become a full-time opinion columnist for Bloomberg. His debut column, titled "Why is Econ 101 so bad?", was published on May 22, 2014. After a year of working part-time for Bloomberg, he accepted a full-time role in 2016, resigned from Stony Brook University, and relocated to California. Throughout this period, he continued maintaining his blog, transitioning it from Blogger to Substack in 2020. His digital following grew substantially through Substack and Twitter, prompting him to leave Bloomberg Businessweek in 2021 to concentrate exclusively on his blog.
Smith was approached by The New York Times to succeed Paul Krugman as an op-ed columnist following Krugman's exit in December 2024; however, Smith declined the offer, preferring the autonomy of writing without editorial oversight.
Political views
Often associated with liberal economists such as Krugman—who has endorsed some of Smith’s perspectives—he has made several appearances on the Neoliberal Project's podcast and was dubbed "Chief Neoliberal Shill" in 2018. Smith argues that the term "neoliberal" should not be considered pejorative.
Sharing common ground with liberal commentators, Smith has voiced criticism against conservative leanings within economic discourse. He stands opposed to socialism and communism, as well as the degrowth movement advocating for a post-growth economic model. He promotes a more empirical approach to economics education, particularly emphasizing data-driven instruction in microeconomics, while criticizing macroeconomics for its overreliance on theoretical frameworks despite its widespread appeal. Smith characterizes Modern Monetary Theory as political rhetoric encouraging deficit spending rather than a robust economic framework.
During the mid-2020s, Smith’s positions shifted somewhat toward the right on certain topics; although maintaining criticism of the Trump administration, he began expressing greater appreciation for libertarian ideas after previously critiquing them. Additionally, he has criticized the left for placing excessive focus on identity politics.
References
External links
- Living people
- 21st-century American economists
- American male journalists
- American male bloggers
- American people of Jewish descent
- American political writers
- American economics writers
- 21st-century American non-fiction writers
- American bloggers
- Opinion journalists
- 21st-century American journalists
- University of Michigan alumni
- Stanford University alumni
- Stony Brook University faculty
- Bloomberg L.P. people
- YIMBY activists
- Housing rights activists from New York City