Lawrence Mishel came to the Economic Policy Institute in 1987. As EPI's first research director, then as vice president, and now president, he has played a significant role in building EPI's research capabilities and reputation. He has researched, written, and spoken widely on the economy and economic policy as it affects middle- and low-income families. He is principal author of a major research volume, The State of Working America (published every even-numbered year since 1988) which provides a comprehensive overview of the U.S. labor market and living standards.

A nationally recognized economist, Mishel is frequently called on to testify and provide economic briefings to members of Congress and appears regularly as a commentator on the economy in print and broadcast media. Most recently, he wrote a paper outlining a plan to stimulate the economy, which was widely adopted by policy makers in Washington and beyond.

He received his B.S. from Pennsylvania State University, his M.A. in Economics from American University, and his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin.

John Irons joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2007. His areas of research include the U.S. economy and economic policy, with an emphasis on federal tax and budget policy. He previously worked as the Director of Tax and Budget Policy at the Center for American Progress (2004-2007) and as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Economics at Amherst College (1999-2003). He has also worked for the Brookings Institution (1995) and at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (1992-1994). His academic publications have appeared in several journals including the Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Applied Econometrics, and the Review of Financial Economics. He is also co-editor of Testing Exogeneity, published by Oxford University Press. He has won several awards for his economics Web sites, including top-5 awards from The Economist and Forbes. He currently serves on the Committee on Electronic Publishing for the American Economic Association, and on the Board of Governors of the National Economists Club.

He received his B.A. in Economics from Swarthmore College and his Ph.D. in Economics from MIT.

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