Thomas Herndon

A graduate student in economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Thomas Herndon is known for critiquing “Growth in a Time of Debt”, a widely cited academic paper by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff supporting the austerity policies implemented by governments in Europe and North America in the early 21st century. His research in 2013 concluded these measures may not have been necessary.

Herndon proved the Reinhart-Rogoff paper contained multiple errors, provoking widespread international interest and embarrassment for austerity policymakers. The findings have been described as “shocking” and as having rocked the economics world.