Mike Konczal is the Senior Director of Policy and Research at the Economic Security Project, where he oversees policy development, research, and strategic analysis to build economic power for all Americans. Previously, he served as a Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Chief Economist for the National Economic Council. He was an early hire at the Roosevelt Institute, leading major projects on financial reform, inequality, economic ideas, and macroeconomics. He is the author of Freedom from the Market: America’s Fight to Liberate Itself from the Grip of the Invisible Hand, and a co-author, with Joseph Stiglitz, of Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy. His work has ranged from policy briefs on financial reform to original economic research on austerity and labor market dynamism. A former financial engineer, he holds a B.A. in math and computer science and a M.S. in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Described as having “a cult following among progressives” by the New York Times Magazine, he was also an economics columnist for The Nation and was a contributing editor at Dissent. Specializing in economic data analysis and policy research, Mike has been cited in hundreds of press articles, testified before Congress multiple times, and made dozens of media appearances on platforms like CBS Sunday Morning, Planet Money, and Washington Journal. His written work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. Born and raised in Chicago, he now lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with his wife, two daughters, and pit bull.