Stephen D. Williamson

Stephen Williamson is Professor of Economics at Western University, where he holds the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Central Banking. He is also a Bank of Canada Fellow. Prior to arriving at Western in 2017, he was Robert S. Brookings Distinguished Professor in Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and the Chester A. Phillips Professor of Financial Economics at the University of Iowa. He has also held an academic position at Queen’s University, and has served as a Vice-President at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and held positions at the Bank of Canada and in the Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

Professor Williamson specializes in macroeconomics, monetary theory and policy, and has made significant contributions to these fields. In his research, he has studied monetary and banking arrangements and policies as they relate to macroeconomic performance and welfare. His research in the area of monetary economics and policy spans the development of theoretical models to the practical applications of real world policies. His current research agenda focuses on the relationship between central banks and the fiscal authority, unconventional monetary policy, and central bank digital currency.

He has published extensively in peer-reviewed economics journals, including the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, the Review of Economic Studies, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Canadian Journal of Economics, and Canadian Public Policy. His textbook, Macroeconomics, is in its sixth Canadian edition, and sixth U.S. edition. He has also published extensively in Federal Reserve Publications, including the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank Quarterly Review, the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank Review, and the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank Economic Quarterly. He has held visiting scholar positions at the Bank of Canada, and at the Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond, St. Louis, Cleveland, Atlanta, New York, Kansas City, and Minneapolis, as well as the Federal Reserve Board.

Professor Williamson has helped organize conferences in Canada, the United States and China and has a strong commitment to mentoring students. He is currently the faculty advisor for Western’s undergraduate team participating in the Bank of Canada’s annual Governor’s Challenge. 

Professor Williamson was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and attended primary and secondary school in Cobourg, Ontario.