As an award-winning economics journalist for The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and author of Foolproof: Why Safety Can Be Dangerous and How Danger Makes Us Safe, Gregory Ip has built his career on the knowledge he gained while pursuing a double major in journalism and economics at Carleton.
“Economics has been part of what I’ve written every day since I graduated from Carleton,” says Ip. “I felt well-equipped with a really good basic tool kit in both fields. I can solve economic problems and write articles on technical topics that many people want explained.”
Writing as the Chief Economics Commentator for WSJ, Ip has made a name for himself as one of the United State’s best known economic journalists. He currently has nearly 72,000 X (Twitter) followers and is regularly consulted by the media, appearing often on National Public Radio, PBS Newshour, and CNBC. Ip also delivered the FPA Currents Lecture in 2017, in honour of Carleton University’s 75th Anniversary.
After eleven years at WSJ and six years at The Economist magazine, Ip still credits his Carleton education with preparing him for a career in economics. “Carleton covered the basics very thoroughly: microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics, and statistics were all drilled into me,” he recalls. “It’s been very useful over the past few years.”
From a journalism perspective, Carleton also taught Ip invaluable skills. As a former editor of The Charlatan, Carleton’s student newspaper, he has this advice for young reporters: “Don’t be afraid of looking stupid. Ask a lot of questions. And there’s a high return on investment when you treat everybody well. They can make or break your day or your story.”
Today, Ip continues to feel incredibly lucky to be writing on a subject that continues to fascinate him.
Written by Michelle Hennessy.
Wednesday, January 10, 2024 in Alumni Profile, Department of Economics, Journalism, News
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