William Russell Easterly is an American economist, specializing in economic development. He is a Professor of Economics at New York University, joint with Africa House, and Co-Director of NYU’s Development Research Institute.

William Russell Easterly is an American economist, specializing in economic development. He is a Professor of Economics at New York University (NYU), joint with Africa House, and Co-Director of NYU’s Development Research Institute. He has been a Research Associate of NBER, senior fellow at the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD) of Duke University, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. Easterly is also an associate editor of the Journal of Economic Growth.