Fair, constructive, and always motivating.
David Blanchflower is the Bruce V. Rauner '78 Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College in the Business & Economics area. He received his B.A. Soc. Sci. (Economics) from the University of Leicester in 1973, Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the University of Birmingham in 1975, M.Sc. (Econ) from the University of Wales in 1981, and Ph.D. from the University of London (Queen Mary College) in 1985. Honorary degrees include D.Litt. from the University of Leicester (2007), D.Sc. from Queen Mary University of London (2009), and D.Litt. from the University of Sussex (2011). Beginning his career as a high school teacher and further education lecturer in the UK, he held positions at the Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick, and as Assistant Professor at the University of Surrey (1986-1989). Since joining Dartmouth College as Associate Professor in 1989, he advanced to full Professor in 1993 and assumed the Rauner Professorship in 2001. He chaired the Economics Department from 1998 to 2000 and served as Associate Dean of the Faculty for the Social Sciences from 2000 to 2001. From 2006 to 2009, he was a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. Currently, he is also a part-time Professor of Economics at the University of Glasgow.
Blanchflower's expertise lies in labor economics, with research interests encompassing statistics, advanced labor economics, microeconomics, econometrics, well-being, happiness, mental health—especially among youth—unemployment, unions, and monetary policy. Notable publications include his co-authored book "The Wage Curve" (MIT Press, 1994), which received Princeton University's Richard A. Lester Prize for the outstanding book in labor economics, and highly cited papers such as "What makes an entrepreneur?" (Journal of Labor Economics, 1998), "Well-being over time in Britain and the USA" (Journal of Public Economics, 2004), and "Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle?" (Social Science & Medicine, 2008). Since 2020, he has published 50 works, including 40 in refereed journals, focusing on the global decline in young people's mental health, such as "The declining mental health of the young in the UK" (NBER Working Paper, 2024). His contributions have earned him the Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2009 and recognition as Business Person of the Year by the Daily Telegraph in 2008. He has served on editorial boards for journals like Industrial & Labor Relations Review and Scottish Journal of Political Economy.