Ph.D. Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. 2014
M.A. Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. 2010
B.A. History, University of Chicago. 1999
I am Assistant Professor of Economics at John Jay College, City University of New York. Previously, I taught at Roosevelt University in Chicago. I am also a Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. I have a PhD in Economics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
I was formerly the Policy Director for the New York State Working Families Party.
“The most interesting person worrying about stock buybacks and short-termism is J.W. Mason.” -- Matt Levine, Bloomberg View
"An iconoclastic economist and blogger who is always worth reading." -- Reihan Salam, National Review
“Like everyone else in the economics blogging sphere, I have been impressed by the new Mason-Konczal project at the Roosevelt Institute." - Matt Bruenig, Demos Policy Shop
"For fans of unorthodox economics, Mason is always someone to watch." Tim Cook, Washington Post
The Evolution of State-Local Balance Sheets in the US, 1953-2013. Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, 2018. With Arjun Jayadev and Amanda Page-Hoongrajok
A comparison of monetary and fiscal policy interaction under sound and functional finance regimes, Metroeconomica, 2018. With Arjun Jayadev
The Political Economy of Financialization in the US, Europe and India, Development and Change, 2018. With Arjun Jayadev and Enno Schroeder
A New Direction for the Federal Reserve: Expanding the Monetary Policy Toolkit, Roosevelt Institute, 2017. With Mike Konczal
What Recovery? The Case for Continued Expansionary Policy at the Fed, Roosevelt Institute, 2017
Review of Reardon 2014, The Handbook of Pluralist Economics Education. Review of Keynesian Economics, 2017.
Mapping India’s Finances: Sixty Years of Flow of Funds. Economic and Political Weekly, 2017, Vol. 52, No. 18. With Arjun Jayadev and Amay Narayan.
Dealing with the Trade Deficit, in Untamed: How to Check Corporate, Financial and Monopoly Power, Roosevelt Institute, 2016
The Post-1980 Debt Disinflation: An Exercise in Historical Accounting. With Arjun Jayadev. Review of Keynesian Economics, 3 (2015): 314-335.
Loose Money, High Rates: Interest Rate Spreads in Historical Perspective. With Arjun Jayadev. Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, 2015
Understanding Short-Termism: Questions and Consequences. Roosevelt Institute, 2015
An Agenda to End Short-Termism. With Mike Konczal and Amanda Page-Hongrajook. Roosevelt Institute, 2015
Disgorge the Cash: The Disconnect Between Corporate Borrowing and Investment. Roosevelt Institute, 2015
Review of Dumenil & Levy, The Crisis of Neoliberalism, Rethinking Marxism, Fall 2014
Fisher Dynamics in Household Debt: The Case of the United States, 1929-2011. With Arjun Jayadev. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, August 2014.
The Tax Adequacy Problem of the New England States. With John Miller. Political Economy Research Institute. 2014
Strange Defeat: How Austerity Economics Lost All the Intellectual Battles and Still Won the War. With Arjun Jayadev. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 68, No. 32, August 10, 2013.
My research focuses on the history and political economy of money and credit, including the evolution of household debt, public-sector balance sheets, and the changing role of financial markets in business investment. I also work on history of economic thought, particularly the development of macroeconomics over the twentieth century.
In addition to my scholarly work, I have done policy work for the New York Working Families Party, the New York City Independent Budget Office, and the AFL-CIO, and have published popular articles in The Nation, In These Times, The American Prospect, The Baffler, Jacobin, and The New Inquiry, among other venues.