Scott Sumner

About the Author

Scott Sumner is an acclaimed economist and historian whose work illuminates the intricate interplay between financial markets, government policies, and major economic upheavals. With a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago, he has spent decades dissecting the causes and consequences of monetary policy failures, challenging conventional narratives on historical crises. Sumner's incisive analyses blend rigorous data with accessible prose, making complex theories approachable for both scholars and general readers. His seminal book, The Midas Paradox: Financial Markets, Government Policy Shocks, and the Great Depression, reexamines the 1930s downturn through the lens of policy-induced commodity price shocks, offering fresh insights into the Great Depression's origins. As a professor emeritus at Wellesley College and a prominent blogger at The Money Illusion, Sumner continues to influence debates on central banking and economic stability, advocating for nominal GDP targeting as a superior framework for modern monetary policy.