I’m Will Wilkinson, Vice President for research at the Niskanen Center and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times.
My current research and writing focuses on the challenge of revitalizing liberal democracy in an age of polarizing multicultural urbanization, and the development of a social and economic policy agenda that reconciles libertarian ideals of economic freedom with the modern liberal welfare state.
I’ve been a United States politics correspondent for The Economist, a research fellow at the Cato Institute, a columnist for The Week and a commentator for “Marketplace Morning Report.” I’ve been published on a wide array of subjects, including immigration, populism, cities, fiscal policy, regulatory barriers to opportunity, happiness research, behavioral economics and economic inequality in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Bloomberg View, Politico and other publications.
My academic background is in philosophy and liberal political theory, as well as creative writing, and I’ve taught at Howard University, the University of Maryland, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. I live in Washington and Iowa City with Kerry Howley, our son, Felix, and our elderly Vizsla, Winston.