Laurie Macfarlane

Economist and Writer

Laurie Macfarlane is an Edinburgh based economist and writer. He is currently a Research Fellow at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP); Economics Editor at openDemocracy; a Fellow at The Democracy Collaborative; and a member of North Ayrshire Council’s Community Wealth Building Expert Panel. Prior to this he was Senior Economist at the New Economics Foundation.

Laurie has led research projects for a range of organisations including the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), Common Wealth, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), Tax Justice UK, and the Scottish Land Commission. His research interests include public banking, the economics of land and housing, industrial policy and inequality.

Laurie is also the co-author of the critically acclaimed book ‘Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing’ and editor of the essay collection ‘New Thinking for the British Economy’. His writing has appeared in the Guardian, New Statesman, Project Syndicate, Tribune Magazine, IPPR Progressive Review, and Evonomics.