Biography

Tim Harford is a senior columnist for the Financial Times. His long-running column, “The Undercover Economist”, reveals the economic ideas behind everyday experiences, while a new column, “Since You Asked”, offers a sceptical look at the news of the week.

Tim’s first book, “The Undercover Economist” has sold one million copies worldwide in almost 30 languages. He is also the author of  ”The Logic of Life“,  ”Dear Undercover Economist” and “Adapt“.

As a broadcaster, Tim has presented television and radio series for the BBC, most famously “More or Less” on Radio 4. His new Radio 4 series, which launched early in 2013, is called “Pop Up Economics“. He is an evangelist for the power of economics, wisely used, and has spoken at both TED and PopTech.

Tim won the Bastiat Prize for economic journalism in 2006 and was runner up in 2010. The Royal Statistical Society has commended More or Less for excellence in journalism in 2010, 2011 and 2012; More or Less has also won awards from Mensa and HealthWatch. Tim was named one of the UK’s top 20 tweeters by The Independent.

Tim has appeared on the Colbert Report, Newsnight, Marketplace, Planet Money, PM, Today, The One Show and many other popular radio and TV programs. His writing has been published by the leading magazines and newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic, including Esquire, Forbes, Wired, New York Magazine, the Guardian, the Sunday Times, the Washington Post and the New York Times.

Tim was the first Peter Martin Fellow at the Financial Times, and was a member of the Financial Times editorial board from 2006-2009. He previously worked for Shell and for the World Bank.

Tim is a member of the Royal Economic Society council and a visiting fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford and he lives in Oxford with his wife and three children.