Academic hiring for newly minted PhD economists has plunged since 2019 — listings for US full‑time academic positions were roughly halved by 2025, and the decline in the most recent year exceeded the downturn seen in the Great Recession. The shock appears to be deeper for economists than for some other humanities and social‑science fields, risking a long‑term shortage of university and policy economists.
— A collapsed pipeline of PhD economists threatens teaching capacity, federal/state policy analysis, and the talent base for think tanks and regulatory agencies, creating a governance and workforce problem beyond academia.
Tyler Cowen
2026.01.10
100% relevant
Wendy Stock (Montana State) cited in the FT story (linked by Cowen) reporting that full‑time academic postings halved 2019–2025 and that the single‑year drop exceeded that of the Great Recession; this article summarizes that finding.
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