The Washington Post Launches Blog Focused on the Economic Policy Debate

“The Hearing” Features Simon Johnson, MIT Sloan Professor and Former Chief Economist of the IMF, and James Kwak, Co-Founder of The Baseline Scenario

The Washington Post today launches “The Hearing,” a blog that discusses the key economic policy questions being debated in Washington. Simon Johnson and James Kwak will write the blog along with contributions from Washington Post economic policy reporter Neil Irwin. Economists, commentators and other experts will also provide guest contributions to create a forum featuring a variety of opinions.

“Right now, the nation is grappling with a financial crisis, and what happens in Washington is critical to understand how we got to this point and what the future holds,” said Simon Johnson. “The Hearing will provide Washington Post readers with greater transparency and insight into economic policy decisions.”

Johnson is the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund and is currently the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Kwak is a former McKinsey consultant, co-founder of Guidewire Software, and a student at the Yale Law School. They also co-founded The Baseline Scenario, a popular economics blog.

The Hearing will highlight Washington’s actions on topics of economic significance, such as economic stimulus, taxation, financial regulation or the auto industry bailout. This blog will also include previews of congressional hearings, key speeches, Washington-based forums and anticipated congressional action on economic policy, plus an analysis of the events after they occur.

This week, The Hearing featured discussion of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s appearance before the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel and of the hearing of the Joint Economic Committee on “Too Big To Fail.” Guest contributors included Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Professor Jonathan Macey of Yale Law School, and Professor David Zaring of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

To learn more, visit The Hearing at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/hearing.

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Contacts

Washington Post Digital
Jennifer Lee, 703-469-2671
jennifer.lee {at} wpost(.)com