Brian Easton is an economist

Economist

An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

 from New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. He has been economics columnist for the New Zealand Listener

New Zealand Listener

The New Zealand Listener is a New Zealand magazine. First published in 1939 and edited by Oliver Duff and the Monte Holcroft it originally had a monopoly on the publication of of upcoming television and radio programmes. In the 1980s it lost its monopoly on the publication of upcoming television...

 magazine for more than 20 years, giving him a high public profile. He has held a number of university teaching posts but currently works as an independent scholar. Easton has given keynote speeches at conferences around the world and is known for his criticism of economic orthodoxy.

Background

Easton was born in 1943 and grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand. He holds degrees in mathematics and economics from the University of Canterbury

University of Canterbury

The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...

, and in economics from Victoria University of Wellington

Victoria University of Wellington

Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...

. Brian Easton is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society

Royal Statistical Society

The Royal Statistical Society is a learned society for statistics and a professional body for statisticians in the UK.-History:It was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London , though a perhaps unrelated London Statistical Society was in existence at least as early as 1824...

, a Chartered Statistician, and a Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand

Royal Society of New Zealand

The Royal Society of New Zealand , known as the New Zealand Institute before 1933, was established in 1867 to co-ordinate and assist the activities of a number of regional research societies including the Auckland Institute, the Wellington Philosophical Society, the Philosophical Institute of...

.

Publication

As author, co-author or editor of more than 30 books, Easton writes regularly for the NZ Listener and other journals and newspapers. His recent books include Globalisation and the Wealth of Nations (Auckland University Press

Auckland University Press

Auckland University Press founded in 1966, is the book publishing arm of the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.It publishes New Zealand history, biography, poetry, short stories and essays, Maori and Pacific Island studies in addition to scholarly and academic works.-Awards:*AUP has...

, 2007), The Commercialisation of New Zealand (AUP, 1997), In Stormy Seas: The Post-War New Zealand Economy (UOP, 1997), The Whimpering of the State: Policy after MMP (AUP, 1999) and The Nationbuilders (AUP, 2001). He is one of the public intellectuals who were the subjects of Speaking Truth to Power: Public Intellectuals Rethink New Zealand, edited by Laurence Simmons (AUP, 2007).

Academia

Easton has held a number of scholarships and fellowships including visiting fellowships at the University of Melbourne, as Richard Downing Research Professor, Georgetown and Harvard Universities, as a Fulbright NZ Distinguished Visiting Fellow and a Marsden Fellowship (2003–2006). In 2002 he was appointed to the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Growth and Innovation Advisory Board and, in 2005, he was made a Distinguished Fellow of the New Zealand Association of Economists. He has documented his current work activity and interests in his personal web site.