Benjamin Powell is an associate professor of economics at Suffolk University, a senior economist with the Beacon Hill Institute, and a research fellow with the Independent Institute.  He earned his B.S. in economics and finance from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University.

Professor Powell is the editor of Making Poor Nations Rich: Entrepreneurship and the Process of Development (Stanford University Press: 2008) and co-editor of Housing America: Building Out of a Crisis (Transaction: 2009).  He is author of more than 50 scholarly articles and policy studies.  His primary fields of research are economic development, Austrian economics, public choice, and housing economics.  Dr. Powell’s research findings have been reported in more than 100 popular press outlets including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.  He also writes  frequently for the popular press. His popular writing has appeared in the Investor’s Business Daily, the Financial Times (London), the Christian Science Monitor, and many regional outlets.  He has appeared on numerous regional and national radio and television shows including, CNN, MSNBC, Showtime, CNBC, and he is a regular guest on Fox Business's Freedom Watch.