Bill Mitchell (economist)

William Francis Mitchell (born 7 March 1952) is an Australian economist and academic. He is a professor of economics at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and Docent Professor of Global Political Economy at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He is also a guest professor at Kyoto University, Japan since 2022. He is one of the founding developers of Modern Monetary Theory.

Early life

Mitchell was born to working class parents in Glen Huntly, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in March 1952. The family moved to Ashwood, a new Housing Commission suburb soon after. He attended Ashwood Primary School (1957–1963) and Ashwood High School (1964–1969).

Education Mitchell holds the following degrees: PhD in Economics, University of Newcastle, 1998; Bachelor of Commerce, Deakin University, 1977; and Master of Economics Monash University, 1982. He completed a Master's Preliminary at the University of Melbourne in 1978 (with first-class honours).Qualifications Newcastle University biography

Career Academic Since 1990, Mitchell is a professor at University of Newcastle, New South Wales. He also holds the position of Docent Professor in Global Political Economy, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland and is a Guest International Professor at Kyoto University, Japan.

Activist Mitchell works to promote active government economic policies and the use of fiscal deficits as a tool to enhance well-being and environmental sustainability. He is Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), a non-profit, research organisation at the University of Newcastle. Its mission statement is to advance research and policies that can restore full employment and achieve a society that "delivers equitable outcomes for all".

Mitchell participates in public and community activities on the issues of politics, economics, fiscal sustainability,"What is Fiscal Sustainability?", Counter-Conference on Fiscal Sustainability, 28 April 2010, Washington, DC, USA and the environment.Climate Action Newcastle event information, 2008

Mitchell opposes neo-liberal economic theories and practices; he disputes the "revisionism" of History ostensibly perpetrated by mainstream or conservative economists, especially in relation to the policies of the New Deal."The conservative reconstruction of history" Mitchell, 25 June 2010 He has often been called to appear as an expert witness in industrial matters in state and federal tribunals in Australia, as well as in various government enquiries."Public Debt management and Australia’s macroeconomic priorities" by Mitchell & Mosler, presentation to the Review of the Commonwealth Government Securities Market, 2002 His work in childcare industrial cases in Victoria and New South Wales influenced the realignments in the relevant State and Federal Awards in that sector.

Author Mitchell coined the term Modern Monetary Theory, also known as MMT. He coined the term in reference to John Maynard Keynes' claim that for at least 4,000 years money has been "a creature of the state". He is a prominent promoter of MMT in macroeconomics."Debt, Deficits, and Modern Monetary Theory: An Interview with Bill Mitchell" , Harvard International Review, 16 October 2011

He has written extensively in the fields of macroeconomics, econometrics and public policy.List of publications He has published widely in refereed academic journals and books and regularly gives conference presentations abroad.

Modern Monetary Theory: Bill and Warren's Excellent Adventure This book was published by Lola Press in July 2024 and is co-written with Warren Mosler. The book offers a combination of biography, provenance, history and economic analysis where the co-founders of MMT clarify what constitutes MMT and how their ideas were developed.Modern Monetary Theory: Bill and Warren's Excellent Adventure, Lola Books, July 2024,

Macroeconomics His book Macroeconomics (Macmillan, March 2019), co-written with L. Randall Wray and Martin Watts, is a textbook that "encourages students to take a more critical approach to the prevalent assumptions around the subject of macroeconomics, by comparing and contrasting heterodox and orthodox approaches to theory and policy ... based on the principles of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)".Macroeconomics, Macmillan Publishers, March 2019,

Reclaiming the State: A Progressive Vision of Sovereignty for a Post-Neoliberal World His 2017 book Reclaiming the State: A Progressive Vision of Sovereignty for a Post-Neoliberal World (September, 2017), co-written with Italian journalist Thomas Fazi, "reconceptualises the nation state as a vehicle for progressive change. They show how despite the ravages of neoliberalism, the state still contains resources for democratic control of a nation's economy and finances. The populist turn provides an opening to develop an ambitious but feasible left political strategy. It offers an urgent, provocative and prescient political analysis of our current predicament, and lays out a comprehensive strategy for revitalising progressive economics in the 21st century."Reclaiming the State: A Progressive Vision of Sovereignty for a Post-Neoliberal World, Pluto Press, September 2017,

Eurozone Dystopia: Groupthink and Denial on a Grand Scale

His book Eurozone Dystopia: Groupthink and Denial on a Grand Scale (May 2015), provides a critical history and analysis from the perspective of Modern Monetary Theory of the euro area crisis.Eurozone Dystopia - Groupthink and Denial on a Grand Scale, Edward Elgar Publishing, 29 May 2015,

Full Employment Abandoned Full Employment Abandoned: Shifting Sands and Policy Failures (2008), co-written with Joan Muysken of Maastricht University, traces the theoretical analysis of the nature and causes of unemployment over the last 150 years and argue that the shift from involuntary to so-called "natural rate" concepts of unemployment are behind an "ideological backlash" against state intervention as notably advocated, within the frame of the free economy, by Keynes in the 1930s. The authors further contend that unemployment is a reflection of systemic policy failures, rather than an "individual problem". They present a theoretical and empirical critique of the neo-liberal approach and suggest that the reinstatement of full employment, along with price stability, is a viable policy goal, achievable through an activist fiscal policy.

The notion of job guarantee is introduced, whereby the government would guarantee a job to every willing and able adult individual, paying a wage that would become society's minimum wage, and would be expression of the aspiration of the society of the lowest acceptable standard of living."When is a job guarantee a Job Guarantee?" Mitchell, 17 April 2009

Living Legend In November 2023, he was listed as one of 44 academics in Australia across all disciplines that were considered to be 'Living Legends' by a Special Research report published in The Australian."Australia’s living legends of research" Tim Dodd, 7 November 2023 The report stated these academics were deemed to be "living legends ... because they attract worldwide attention by virtue of their ideas". The analysis termed Mitchell an "eminent scholar" and he was the only economist listed.

Musician Mitchell has played guitar professionally in bands over the years.Personal information Bill Mitchell's website Mitchell currently plays with Pressure Drop, a Melbourne-based reggae-dub band, originally popular in the 1970s and early 1980s. The band reformed in 2010."The real rock-start economist" , Business Review Weekly, 17 May 2012

Mitchell often refers to the economics discipline, and especially the academia, in disparaging terms,"The economics profession is a disgrace" Mitchell, 3 March 2011 stating, only half-jokingly, that his work as a musician does less damage to people. "I think my economics profession is very dangerous," he says.

Personal life Mitchell is a "passionate" cyclist."It's been quite a climb, and now it's really time to ride" by Gerard Knapp, 4 July 2007 He was an "active bike racer"About us , CyclingNews.com when, in 1995, he founded the website Cyclingnews.com, which was sold in 1999 to the Australian media company Knapp Communications. It was subsequently bought in 2007 by Future plc.

Bill Mitchell (economist)

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