person1962–

Tyler Cowen

Disciplines:

Summary

American economist — George Mason University — co-author of Marginal Revolution (most widely read economics blog) — author of The Great Stagnation, Average Is Over, and Stubborn Attachments — among the most influential public intellectual economists.

Core Contribution

Creates the Marginal Revolution blog as the model for serious economics public intellectualism — Cowen and Tabarrok's blog (posting daily since 2003) is the most widely read economics blog and the model for serious academic blogging; Cowen's newsletter (Marginal Revolution) and his 'Conversations with Tyler' podcast added interview and longer essay formats.

Key Spikes & Highlights

Eats at ethnic restaurants in the worst part of every city he visits — Cowen applies economic reasoning to food (the worse the neighborhood, the lower the rent, the more the restaurant must depend on food quality to survive); this eating heuristic has become the most widely cited practical application of economic reasoning to everyday life
Has rated thousands of restaurants on a detailed scoring system for over 30 years — the most systematically documented personal food evaluation in economic writing; his restaurant blog and Yelp reviews apply the same analytical rigor to food as to economics; the combination of high theory and extremely concrete personal practice is the defining Cowen characteristic

Notable Works & Achievements

In Praise of Commercial Culture

Creative Destruction

The Great Stagnation

Average Is Over

Big Business

Stubborn Attachments

Historical Influences

Milton Friedman Friedrich Hayek Paul Samuelson

Intellectual Lineage

Bergenfield, New Jersey George Mason Marginal Revolution blog The Great Stagnation Emergent Ventures

Contemporaries & Peers

Alex Tabarrok Bryan Caplan Robin Hanson

Minds Influenced

Public economics

Intellectual Posterity

Marginal Revolution Conversations with Tyler The Great Stagnation Average Is Over Emergent Ventures

Discussing

Tyler Cowen

Ask anything about Tyler Cowen — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.

person1962–

Tyler Cowen

Disciplines:

Summary

Core Contribution

Key Spikes & Highlights

Eats at ethnic restaurants in the worst part of every city he visits — Cowen applies economic reasoning to food (the worse the neighborhood, the lower the rent, the more the restaurant must depend on food quality to survive); this eating heuristic has become the most widely cited practical application of economic reasoning to everyday life
Has rated thousands of restaurants on a detailed scoring system for over 30 years — the most systematically documented personal food evaluation in economic writing; his restaurant blog and Yelp reviews apply the same analytical rigor to food as to economics; the combination of high theory and extremely concrete personal practice is the defining Cowen characteristic