Thomas Ferguson is the Research Director at the Institute for New Economic Thinking. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and Senior Fellow at Better Markets. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University and taught formerly at MIT and the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including Golden Rule (University of Chicago Press, 1995) and Right Turn (Hill & Wang, 1986). His articles have appeared in many scholarly journals, including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, and the Journal of Economic History. He is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Political Economy and a longtime Contributing Editor at The Nation.
Thomas Ferguson
By this expert
The Hinge of Fate? Economic and Social Populism in the 2016 Presidential Election A Preliminary Exploration
Support for populism is often attributed to xenophobia, racism, sexism; to anger and resentment at immigrants, racial or ethnic minorities, or “uppity” non-traditional women. According to these accounts , people who feel socially resentful may reject established politicians as favoring those “others” over people like themselves, and turn to outsider populistic leaders.
Edward Kane: Hidden Subsidies for Too Big to Fail Banks

An examination of some little-known ways nation states and central banks prop up megabanks
Ferguson: Monetary Policy Can't Levitate a Broken Economy

As part of an International Economy symposium, INET Research Director Tom Ferguson assessed the challenge facing central bankers through the lens of the missing virtues of Dorothy’s travel companions in the Wizard of Oz
INET Research in a Year of Living Dangerously

Notes from the Institute’s Director of Research on some significant papers and contributions produced in 2016 under the INET rubric
Featuring this expert
Thomas Ferguson on Background Briefing
INET Research Director Tom Ferugson talks about Donald Trump and racial resentment with Ian Masters’s Background Briefing
The Intercept: Donald Trump Exploited Long-Term Economic Distress to Fuel His Election Victory, Study Finds
The Intercept covers a new INET paper from our Research Director Tom Ferguson and his co-authors.
Jacobin Features INET Paper on 2016 Election
Jacobin Magazine features research from INET Research Director Tom Ferguson and co-authors on big business support for Donald Trump in the 2016 campaign.
Noam Chomsky Cites Thomas Ferguson's Paper
In a piece for The Intercept, Noam Chomsky cites Tom Ferguson’s paper on the influence of money in US congressional elections.