The best economics newsletters of 2026

Hark’s top 10 economics newsletters

Hand-ranked by the Hark News editorial team on breadth of coverage, original reporting, publisher authority, publishing frequency, and track record. Every one is free to read, or has a real free tier.

1. 01

   Marginal Revolution

   FreeWeekdaysTyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok

   Several short posts a day on economics, policy, technology, culture, and books, including the signature 'assorted links' roundups. Cowen and Tabarrok are George Mason economists who also created Marginal Revolution University and a principles textbook. Running since 2003, it is one of the most-read economics blogs; the homepage has a free email-subscription form.

   Best for Readers who want the fastest daily pulse on what economists are debating, from culture and technology to policy, plus Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok's famous curated links.

   • Daily Digest
   • Ideas
   • Culture & Tech
   • Blogosphere
2. 02

   Paul Krugman

   FreeDailyPaul Krugman·600k readers

   Paul Krugman left the New York Times and now writes several times a week on Substack about trade, inflation, inequality, and political economy. The Nobel laureate's arguments come in plain English with the data to back them, and the core posts are free. One of the largest economics lists anywhere.

   Best for Readers who want trade, inflation, and inequality explained in plain English with the data behind it, straight from a Nobel laureate who left the Times for Substack.

   • Trade
   • Inflation
   • Political Economy
   • Nobel Laureate
3. 03

   Chartbook

   Freemium2-3x weeklyAdam Tooze (Substack)·183k readers

   Data-rich essays and chart-driven link collections connecting macroeconomics to geopolitics and history — by his own description, 'more substantial than the twitter feed, more freewheeling' than his FT or Foreign Policy columns. Tooze directs Columbia's European Institute and is one of the best-known economic historians writing today. Free posts with a paid tier on Substack.

   Best for Readers who want a bond selloff or a market swing explained with a century of geopolitical and historical context, from a Columbia historian who thinks in decades.

   • Geopolitics
   • Economic History
   • Markets
   • Global Economy
4. 04

   Noahpinion

   FreemiumSeveral posts a weekNoah Smith (Substack)·457k readers

   Frequent long-form posts on economic policy, industrial strategy, geopolitics, and technology, written in an argumentative, data-driven style. Smith was an assistant professor of finance and a Bloomberg Opinion columnist before going independent. One of Substack's largest economics publications, with free posts plus a paid tier.

   Best for Readers who want their assumptions tested with argumentative, evidence-heavy essays on industrial policy and technology from an economist unafraid to pick a fight.

   • Industrial Policy
   • Technology
   • Debate
   • Macro
5. 05

   Planet Money Newsletter

   FreeWeeklyNPR

   The email companion to NPR's beloved Planet Money podcast, taking one economic story or idea each week and unpacking it in plain, playful language. It carries the show's signature trick of finding the economics hiding inside everyday life. A great pick for curious generalists who want economics without equations or market noise.

   Best for Curious generalists who want one economic idea a week explained in plain, playful language, in the spirit of NPR's podcast, without equations or market noise.

   • Explainers
   • Everyday Economics
   • Generalist
   • Podcast Companion
6. 06

   Kyla's Newsletter

   FreeWeeklyKyla Scanlon·164k readers

   Kyla Scanlon translates markets and macro into ideas a normal person can use, coining terms like 'vibecession' along the way. Her weekly essays connect the economy to how people actually experience it, and she keeps the newsletter free by stated policy. One of the most distinctive young voices in economic commentary.

   Best for Readers who want the economy translated into how people actually experience it, from the writer behind terms like vibecession, kept free by stated policy.

   • Markets & Culture
   • Young Voices
   • Macro
   • Free Access
7. 07

   Apricitas Economics

   FreemiumWeekly (Saturday)Joseph Politano·83k readers

   Joseph Politano's Apricitas is meticulous, data-driven macroeconomics: what the latest employment, inflation, and trade releases actually say, walked through chart by chart. He is one of the best young data journalists working in economics. The Saturday post is free and substantial, with more for paid subscribers.

   Best for Data-minded readers who want the latest jobs, inflation, and trade releases walked through chart by chart by one of the best young data journalists in economics.

   • Data Journalism
   • Labor Market
   • Charts
   • Weekly Release
8. 08

   EconoFact

   FreePeriodic; tied to new analysisEdward R. Murrow Center, The Fletcher School at Tufts University

   EconoFact publishes short memo-style briefs written by a network of academic economists, aiming to put verifiable facts back into national policy debates. The tone is deliberately sober and nonpartisan, closer to a briefing document than a column. Best for readers who want the underlying evidence on trade, immigration, or fiscal policy rather than takes.

   Best for Readers who want sober, memo-style briefs on trade, immigration, or fiscal policy from a network of academic economists, closer to a briefing document than a column.

   • Policy Briefs
   • Nonpartisan
   • Academic
   • Fact-Based
9. 09

   Stay-At-Home Macro (SAHM)

   FreeWeekly (irregular)Claudia Sahm·42k readers

   Claudia Sahm, the former Fed economist whose name is on the Sahm Rule recession indicator, writes about monetary policy and macro data as someone who has sat in the room. She is plainspoken about what the Fed is doing and why, and forthright when she thinks the consensus is wrong.

   Best for Readers who want a former Fed economist's plainspoken read on monetary policy and macro data, including when she thinks the consensus itself is wrong.

   • Monetary Policy
   • Fed Watch
   • Recession Indicators
   • Macro Data
10. 10

    The Overshoot

    Freemium1 to 3 issues per monthMatthew C. Klein

    Matthew Klein, formerly of the Financial Times and Barron's, writes deeply researched pieces making sense of the global economy, central banks, and financial markets. The style is chart-dense and rigorous, aimed at people who actually read the data appendix. Best for serious macro watchers; casual readers may find the depth and the $30 per month full price heavy.

    Best for Serious macro watchers who read the data appendix and want deeply researched, chart-dense analysis of central banks and financial markets from a former FT writer.

    • Central Banks
    • Global Markets
    • Deep Research
    • Chart-Dense

More economics newsletters

The rest of our ranked economics newsletters, #11 through #22.

11. 11

    The Grumpy Economist

    Free1-2x weeklyJohn Cochrane·34k readers

    John Cochrane, the Stanford economist, writes cheerfully grumpy essays on inflation, fiscal policy, and free markets. The Grumpy Economist brings academic rigor to the policy fights of the day, and Cochrane always shows his work. He moved the long-running blog to Substack in late 2023.

    Best for Readers who want academic rigor applied cheerfully to the day's fights over inflation, fiscal policy, and free markets, always with the underlying work shown.

    • Free Markets
    • Fiscal Policy
    • Academic Blog
    • Inflation
12. 12

    PS Economics Newsletter

    FreeProject Syndicate

    The PS Economics Newsletter is one of several picks on Project Syndicate's newsletter page (alongside an AI & Tech edition and a general weekly), rounding up new economics commentary from contributors like Nobel laureates, former central bankers, and academic economists. Signup is free by selecting newsletters and entering an email; full access to some PS content requires a paid subscription.

13. 13

    VoxEU Weekly Digest

    FreeWeeklyCEPR (Centre for Economic Policy Research)

    VoxEU is the research-to-policy portal of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, where academic economists summarize new work in accessible column form. The weekly digest gathers all new columns and podcasts in one email. This is the wonkiest pick in the category: ideal for economists, policy staff, and serious amateurs; too dense for casual readers.

    Best for Economists, policy staff, and serious amateurs who want new academic research translated into accessible column form, gathered from CEPR's research-to-policy portal.

    • Academic Research
    • Policy Research
    • CEPR
    • Weekly Digest
14. 14

    NBER Digest

    FreeMonthlyNational Bureau of Economic Research

    The NBER Digest is the National Bureau of Economic Research's monthly plain-English summary of its most notable new working papers. It is economics straight from the source, before the findings reach the op-ed pages. Free, nontechnical, and reliably interesting.

    Best for Readers who want economics straight from the source: plain-English summaries of the most notable new NBER working papers, before the findings reach op-eds.

    • Working Papers
    • Research Summaries
    • Nontechnical
    • Monthly
15. 15

    Conversable Economist

    Free2-3x weeklyTimothy Taylor

    Timothy Taylor has edited the Journal of Economic Perspectives since 1987, and Conversable Economist is his running tour of what economists are actually finding. He unpacks research and data in plain, curious prose a few times a week. The closest thing to auditing a very good econ seminar.

    Best for Readers who want a running, curious tour of what economists are actually finding, from the longtime editor of the Journal of Economic Perspectives.

    • Research Roundup
    • Academic Editor
    • Plain Prose
    • Econ Seminar
16. 16

    The Daily Economy

    FreeDailyAmerican Institute for Economic Research (AIER)

    The Daily Economy is the news outlet of the American Institute for Economic Research, publishing daily articles on economics, policy, markets, and culture from a consistently free-market, classical-liberal perspective. The writing is opinionated and accessible rather than academic. Best for readers who want that viewpoint represented in their mix; readers should know the ideological lean going in.

    Best for Readers who want daily economics and policy coverage from a consistently free-market, classical-liberal perspective, and are comfortable with that viewpoint going in.

    • Free Market
    • Classical Liberal
    • Daily News
    • Opinion
17. 17

    Liberty Street Economics

    FreeSeveral posts per weekFederal Reserve Bank of New York

    Accessible write-ups of staff research from the New York Fed's Research Group, running since 2011 and named for the Bank's 33 Liberty Street headquarters. Posts pause during FOMC blackout periods but otherwise appear regularly across monetary policy, markets, and regional topics. The blog page offers free email alerts for new posts.

    Best for Readers who want primary-source economics rather than journalism about it, straight from New York Fed staff on inflation, banking, and market plumbing.

    • Fed Research
    • Banking
    • Market Plumbing
    • Primary Source
18. 18

    On the Economy

    FreeFrequentFederal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

    Short research-based posts from St. Louis Fed economists on inflation, labor markets, regional trends, and economic data, often drawing on the Bank's FRED database. Email alerts go out when new articles post, up to three times per week per the Bank's subscription page. Entirely free, like all the regional Fed research blogs.

    Best for Data-minded readers who want brief, neutral posts on jobs, inflation, and regional trends from the St. Louis Fed shop that runs FRED.

    • Fed Research
    • Regional Data
    • Jobs & Inflation
    • FRED
19. 19

    Bet On It

    FreeNear-dailyBryan Caplan·17k readers

    Bryan Caplan writes near-daily essays on economics, education, immigration, and whatever else he is willing to bet on, argued with cheerful libertarian provocation. He is famous for putting money behind his public predictions and almost always collecting. Read it to have your priors challenged by someone who enjoys the fight.

    Best for Readers who want their priors challenged near-daily by cheerful libertarian provocation on education, immigration, and economics from someone who bets money on his predictions.

    • Libertarian
    • Provocative
    • Education
    • Immigration
20. 20

    EPI Macroeconomics Newsletter

    FreeEconomic Policy Institute

    EPI, a Washington think tank focused on the economics of low- and middle-income workers, publishes this newsletter on macro policy questions like Fed frameworks, recoveries, and fiscal policy. Editions are largely written by Josh Bivens, EPI's chief economist. Free, from a nonprofit research institute.

21. 21

    New This Week

    FreeWeekly (Mondays)National Bureau of Economic Research·50k readers

    NBER's flagship email lands every Monday morning with the abstracts of that week's roughly 25 new working papers, the pipeline through which much of the most influential economics research first appears. There is no editorializing at all: just titles, authors, and abstracts. Strictly for economists, grad students, and hardcore research followers; everyone else will find it dry.

    Best for Economists, grad students, and hardcore research followers who want the abstracts of roughly 25 new NBER working papers every Monday with zero editorializing.

    • Working Papers
    • Academic
    • No Commentary
    • Weekly
22. 22

    Global Connection

    FreeEvery two weeksBrookings Institution

    A biweekly newsletter from Brookings' Global Economy and Development program covering international macroeconomics, political economy, and international relations. It surfaces the program's research and commentary in digest form, with the measured, centrist think-tank voice Brookings is known for. Best for readers tracking the global economy from a policy rather than markets angle.

    Best for Readers tracking the global economy from a policy angle rather than a markets one, via Brookings' measured, centrist take on international macroeconomics.

    • Global Economy
    • Think Tank
    • International Policy
    • Biweekly

Hark’s Picks for Economics newsletters

The Hark editorial team researched each economics newsletter to recommend the strongest pick for every kind of reader, from a quick daily overview to deeper reporting and analysis. These picks reflect Hark’s independent editorial judgment: publishers cannot pay for placement. Updated September 2026.

Recommended bundles for economics newsletters

Hark’s bundles make it easier to follow the news that matters to you without sorting through dozens of newsletters or hearing the same stories repeatedly. Each bundle brings together complementary economics publications, selected by Hark’s editors to provide a useful mix of breaking news, original reporting, expert analysis and important perspectives. Whether you are looking to get ahead in your job or a curious student looking ahead for your career, our bundles are an efficient productivity hack to stay up to date and constantly learn.

Every morning, Hark takes the most important stories from all the newsletters in a bundle, removes the duplicates, and turns them into one short audio briefing: all the top stories in about five minutes. Tap a bundle and its newsletters come pre-selected when you start your free trial; add, drop, and compare until the mix fits.

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