The Chautauqua Lecture Series continues a weeklong exploration of “The 2026 Election: What’s at Stake?” with scholars Ben Harris and James Pethokoukis, sharing their expertise on the state of the economy and economic policy in the United States. The program is the third in a five-part weeklong series presented at Chautauqua in partnership with the American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution, each featuring experts from both organizations.

Ben Harris is the vice president and director of Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he also holds the Bruce and Virginia MacLaury Chair. As a scholar, Harris focuses on public finance and macroeconomics, and is widely published in academic journals, policy outlets and the popular press — including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post — and is a regular guest on cable television. With Martin Baily, he is the author of the book The Retirement Challenge: What’s Wrong with America’s System and a Sensible Way to Fix It.

Harris has extensive experience in senior public sector roles. Most recently, he was assistant secretary for economic policy and chief economist at the Treasury Department, chief economist and economic adviser to the Vice President of the United States, and a senior economist with the Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration. Harris was also the senior economist with the U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee.

In addition to his public service, Harris has worked extensively in think tanks, academia and the private sector. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Washington University, a Master’s degree in economics from Cornell University, a master’s degree in quantitative methods from Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University. He was also a Fulbright Scholar to Namibia in 2000. For his Treasury Department service, Harris was awarded the prestigious Alexander Hamilton Award by Secretary Janet Yellen.

James Pethokoukis is a senior fellow and the DeWitt Wallace Chair at the American Enterprise Institute, where he analyzes U.S. economic policy, writes and edits the “AEIdeas” blog, and hosts AEI’s “Political Economy” podcast. He is also a contributor to CNBC and writes the “Faster, Please!” newsletter on Substack. Before joining AEI, Pethokoukis was the Washington columnist for “Breakingviews,” the opinion and commentary wing of Thomson Reuters. Earlier, he was the business editor and economics columnist for U.S. News & World Report.

Pethokoukis is the author of The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised. He has also written for many publications, including The Atlantic, Commentary, Financial Times, Investor’s Business Daily, National Review, the New York Post, The New York Times, USA Today and The Week. His numerous broadcast appearances include CNBC, CNN, Fox Business, Fox News, MSNBC, and PBS.

A graduate of Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism, Pethokoukis is a 2002 Jeopardy! champion.

This program is made possible by the generous support of The David and Wendy Barensfeld Lectureship Fund.