The best economics newsletters

Nicholas Decker, an economist, writes in-depth posts explaining recent economics research, such as whether pandemic-era air rage really rose and how many people work from home. He also shares clever findings from other fields, like geology and atmospheric science, in an accessible way.

Chartbook is Adam Tooze's newsletter on economics, geopolitics and history, offering longer and more freewheeling analysis than his journalism. Recent issues feature curated top links alongside essays on topics like US current account and AI investment, Treasury markets, Indonesia's economic crisis, and historical episodes.

Noah Smith's blog covers economics, AI, politics, and culture, including essays on film, AI progress, and political critique. Readers get long-form analysis mixing policy commentary with personal reflections on current events.

Data-driven explainers that put public policy numbers into context using charts and datasets, such as UK tax levers, pensions and the ages of world leaders. The author compiles her own data and shows how large each issue is relative to the whole.

Noema is an online magazine publishing long-form essays on politics, history, science, and society, with issues covering topics like Sudan's conflicts, short-termism in democracies, and coastal erosion. Readers get in-depth, thoughtful analysis and reportage from a variety of contributors.

Economist Bryan Caplan's newsletter offers sharp, opinionated essays on social science, power, immigration, and public intellectuals, often built around experiments and debates. Readers get original arguments with a clear point of view, plus guest replies and analysis of how commentators express contempt and sentiment.

Works in Progress is a magazine-style newsletter publishing long-form essays on new and underrated ideas for improving the world. Recent issues cover topics ranging from food and agriculture in Brazil to materials science and the economics of Chinese city governance.

Tomas Pueyo's newsletter explores big-picture questions about the future, covering AI, crypto, history, and society through long-form analysis. Readers get in-depth essays that connect historical patterns to present-day technology and economic shifts.

Exponential View, by Azeem Azhar, offers analytical essays and data-driven briefings on AI, the AI economy, and broader technology and geopolitical trends. Readers get concise analysis of market dynamics, company financials, and long-range thinking about how artificial intelligence may reshape work and society.

Niall Ferguson's Time Machine is a Substack newsletter from historian Niall Ferguson that uses historical analysis to examine current economics, politics, and culture. Issues cover topics such as European protests and debt, American founding principles, election-year risks, and newly unlocked Nixon White House tape transcripts.

A newsletter by a South African economic historian that combines archival research on the Cape Colony with commentary on economics, universities and AI. Each issue tells a story-driven, data-informed essay about South Africa's past and present.

John Cochrane's Substack pairs technical working papers on inflation and monetary policy with free-market commentary on affordability, housing and public opinion. Readers get clear, opinionated explanations of economic models and policy debates from a Chicago-school perspective.

A blog by economist Robin Hanson applying economics, evolutionary theory and Bayesian reasoning to questions about human belief, culture, morality and the long-term future. Readers get contrarian, idea-dense essays that challenge conventional assumptions and propose novel institutional ideas.

Ed Conway's newsletter examines the hidden economic and geopolitical forces shaping the modern world, from energy and diesel markets to national economic models. Issues mix original interviews, such as a transcript with India's Chief Economic Adviser, with long-form analytical essays drawing on his books and reporting.

Kyla's Newsletter offers in-depth economic analysis that connects topics like AI, oil, Treasuries, and consumer sentiment to everyday experiences. It features long-form essays, interviews with figures such as Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, and reflections on labor versus capital and how people perceive the economy.

Katie Gattitassin's newsletter offers essays on wealth, class, and power, blending personal anecdotes with sharp cultural and economic analysis. Recent issues cover Greek life costs and elite reproduction, a 1969 Newsweek report on middle-class insecurity, and the 'main street millionaire' theory of inequality.

Experimental History is a newsletter by a writer who examines claims about society, economics, and science with a data-driven, skeptical eye, debunking popular narratives like AI-driven mass unemployment and the loneliness epidemic. Readers get clear explanations of statistical pitfalls, historical context, and updates on the author's book about how scientific discovery works.

A macroeconomics newsletter examining the global economy and financial markets through data revisions, bond yields and central bank policy. Readers get detailed, data-driven analysis that challenges official statistics and explains what the numbers imply.

Minutes is an essay newsletter that, despite its description as mostly about walking, in these excerpts examines startup economics, asset-light software, and the post-scarcity economy. It also offers cultural critiques, such as comparing hardcore founder profiles to medieval hagiography and reading Revelation as commentary on economic power.

Apricitas Economics is a data-driven newsletter analyzing economics, business, finance, and public policy, with a focus on labor markets, energy, and global economic trends. Readers get in-depth, chart-supported explanations of major economic shifts such as AI's effects on jobs, US electricity demand, and Taiwan's export-driven boom.

Max Tabarrok's blog covers economics, science, philosophy and progress through long-form critical essays. Recent issues dissect a philosophy paper on wages and desert, a debate over elasticity and highway versus housing policy, and a study of how the Endangered Species Act restricts housing construction.

Amelia's Substack publishes analysis on robotics, AI and economics, including how frontier AI could affect robot progress, data-driven looks at the industrial robotics industry, and the labor-market effects of AI. Posts mix original reasoning with sourced data and co-authored research.

Long-form essays that use a single story or question to explain big puzzles in economics, history and institutions, such as why ambulance rides cost so much in the US or why China outgrew India. Readers get narrative-driven, researched explanations of how societies and systems work.

Nate Hagens hosts long-form conversations and writes essays on the systems science behind the human predicament, covering energy, economics, ecology, and human behavior. Readers get episode summaries, discussion questions, and links to show notes for deeper exploration.

Daily market and economic commentary from Dr. Ed Yardeni's research team, built around charts, data and a weekly video webcast. It covers Federal Reserve policy, stock market valuation and earnings, and the macro outlook.

A housing-market newsletter by Bill McBride offering data-driven analysis of mortgage applications, housing starts, and house price-to-income ratios. Readers get charts and commentary on where US real estate is heading, with much of the deeper analysis behind a paid tier.

Compact is an online magazine of essays on politics, culture and society from a conservative-leaning, cross-ideological perspective. Recent issues cover dating and matchmaking, the liberal debate over vice and drug policy, and the historical roots of how technology and automation reshape capitalism.

Prof G Media is a paid newsletter and video series from Scott Galloway and collaborators offering analysis of business, power, economics, and politics. Recent issues cover AI chip oversupply, American household and national debt, midterm election dynamics, and the French fiscal and protest crisis.

Paul Krugman, a Nobel-winning economist, writes commentary on economics and US politics, drawing on data and charts alongside news reporting. Recent issues cover the effects of Trump administration policy on healthcare coverage and household finances, and its stance toward Russia and Ukraine.

The Argument is a politics and policy publication edited by Jerusalem Demsas, mixing reported essays, interviews and data analysis. Readers get liberal-leaning takes on topics like AI risk, wealth and inequality, and elections, plus live events for paid subscribers.

Razib Khan publishes long-form interviews and solo monologues on population genetics, human evolution, ancient DNA and related science and history. Readers get expert-level discussion of current research, including preprints and guest researchers' work.

Explains finance and economics concepts such as valuation ratios, fiscal multipliers and the time value of money, using Indian market examples and history. Readers get clear, story-driven explainers that connect theory to current events.

A daily newsletter from Zerodha that explains major Indian market and business stories, covering the why and how behind each event. It also publishes a weekly roundup of smaller global, economic, industry and company stories with added context.

Economist Brad DeLong posts commentary and crossposts on economic history, political economy, and current topics such as AI spending and gender history. Readers get an opinionated academic perspective that links to and reacts to other writers' work.

TKer is a long-term investing newsletter by Sam Ro that argues the stock market usually goes up and explains market history, valuations and the difference between markets and the economy. Readers get concise, data-backed commentary and reflections aimed at investors who have little time.

Derek Thompson's newsletter explores abundance, technology and society, with recent issues on AI's rapid progress, including its impact on mathematics, and on declining marriage, dating and their effects on births and happiness. Readers get interviews and essays that connect data, economics and cultural change to questions about how to build a better future.

Platypus Economics is a newsletter from an economist that explains macroeconomic news such as deficits, inflation and energy prices in plain language, with a conversational voice and occasional media appearances. Readers get clear, opinionated takes on current economic data and practical explanations of why prices and policy affect everyday life.

Hamilton Nolan's newsletter offers sharp, opinionated commentary on labor, politics and power, covering issues like home insurance affordability, Democratic factional fights and union dynamics. Readers get a clear left-leaning argument per issue plus reported investigations such as an undercover look at a police union convention.

Michael Burry shares his analysis of stock markets, bubbles and bear market risk, drawing on long-run historical data and charts. Issues also include a monthly charity feature and promotion of paid subscription tiers.

Allison Schrager writes essays linking risk, the macro economy, markets and pensions to culture and everyday life, such as loneliness, intangible consumption and the meaning of safety. Readers get an economist's personal, opinionated take with examples drawn from news and her book Worth the Risk.

This newsletter examines why some societies became more gender equal than others, drawing on history, anthropology and empirical social science. It argues that patriarchy is often downplayed in gender studies and explores how male rivalries, kinship and religion shaped gender norms and state-building.

Michael Green, founder of Tier1 Alpha Asset Management, writes essays on financial markets, passive investing and the societal effects of AI. Readers get opinionated, historically informed commentary plus updates on his new investment firm.

Sketchplanations sends a weekly hand-drawn explanation of an idea from science, psychology, creativity or everyday life, with the author's personal anecdotes. Each issue explains the concept in plain language and links it to practical situations such as training, group work and colour mixing.

A weekly newsletter by Tobi Lawson and Feyi Fawehinmi that curates notable Nigerian media stories alongside original commentary on Nigerian economics and politics. Readers get a link selection with excerpts plus occasional close readings of financial documents, such as NNPC's accounts.

A weekly economics newsletter by an economist that uses price theory to explore monetary economics, Nobel-winning research and related ideas. It offers in-depth explanations of theory, with posts on monetary policy, the 2026 economics Nobel and information in markets.

Stripe Economics publishes data-driven analysis of internet and software economics, drawing on anonymised Stripe payment data alongside economic history and research. Recent issues cover the economics of expectations, a research agenda for AI's economic effects, and a Stripe-built index tracking SaaS revenues after a 2026 market sell-off.

A podcast-and-essay newsletter from economists Andrey Fradkin and Seth Benzell, with episode write-ups featuring interviews with economists on AI, labor, and policy. Readers get digests of conversations on AI governance, social skills, and pro-worker technology design, with posteriors and game-theory asides.

Iain Martin offers commentary on British politics, economics, geopolitics and culture, covering topics such as Labour's leadership, education results and public policy. Readers get opinionated, personal analysis from a veteran political journalist, with some issues reserved for paying subscribers.

Essays by a writer examining European policy through economics and innovation, covering EU environmental rules, energy decisions like the Dutch Groningen gas wells, and AI safety incidents. Readers get sharp, opinionated arguments that draw on specific data and historical detail.

A strategy and policy newsletter by an economist examining how AI agents reshape markets, procurement, and platform competition. Each issue develops a conceptual argument with concrete examples such as Walmart's AI supplier negotiations and consumer-side agents.