Stephen D. Williamson

Stephen D. Williamson is a Professor of Economics at Western University, where he holds the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Central Banking, which aims to support monetary policy work. Before arriving at Western, Professor Williamson held several prominent positions, including appointments at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and the University of Iowa. He was also a Vice-President at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis from 2014 to 2017 and held positions at the Bank of Canada and at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

A renowned expert in macroeconomics and central banking, Professor Williamson has made significant contributions to these fields. He has been an important contributor to the new monetarist economics approach to studying monetary and banking arrangements and policies as they relate to macroeconomic performance and welfare. His research in 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 and on the role of currency in the current digital environment.

Professor Williamson has published more than 40 articles, including 6 in the top 5 journals in economics. He has also published Canadian and American editions of his textbook, Macroeconomics, widely used in Canada and internationally, and 17 articles in Federal Reserve publications, comments and reviews, which have been used to inform policy-makers in central banks around the world. He has been the recipient of several honours and awards and held visiting scholar positions at the Federal Reserve banks of Richmond, St. Louis and Cleveland.

Professor Williamson has organized conferences in Canada, the United States and China and has shown a strong commitment to mentoring students and emerging scholars. He is the faculty advisor for the team representing Western at the Bank of Canada’s annual Governor’s Challenge, in which teams simulate the role of advisor to the Bank’s policy-makers.

Born in Canada, professor Williamson completed a PhD in Economics at the University of Wisconsin—Madison in 1984. He earned an Honours Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (1977) and completed a Master of Arts in Economics (1979) at Queen’s University.