Chris Farrell

Economics Editor

SHORT BIO

Chris Farrell is economics editor of Marketplace Money, a nationally syndicated one-hour weekly personal finance show produced by American Public Media. Chris is also economics correspondent for Marketplace, the largest business program in broadcasting and chief economics correspondent for American RadioWorks, the largest producer of long-form documentaries in public radio. He is also contributing economics editor at Business Week magazine. He was host and executive editor of public television’s Right on the Money. He is the author of two books: Right on the Money: Taking Control of Your Personal Finances, and Deflation: What Happens When Prices Fall. Chris is a graduate of Stanford and the London School of Economics.

Latest Stories (2,389)

Study underlines the economic importance of early childhood education

Marketplace’s Chris Farrell says research based on the Perry Preschool Project shows broad, long-term benefits of early investment.
K and Pre-K students gather for a class portrait at Yung Wing School in New York City.
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Should you put cryptocurrency in your retirement account?

Marketplace Senior Economics Contributor Chris Farrell says think twice. He calls the crypto ecosystem "volatile" and "opaque."
A scene from the Bitcoin 2021 Convention, a crypto-currency conference held on June 04, 2021 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Why people are quitting their jobs and starting businesses

The high quit rate and number of new startups signals optimism in the economy's future.
Many people are quitting their jobs and becoming entrepreneurs, signaling confidence in the economy's future.
Richard Pohle/WPA Pool/Getty Images

The rules for required retirement account withdrawals

Rules for the required minimum distribution, as it's called, changed both before and during the pandemic.
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COVID unemployment is causing a serious funding issue for Medicare

Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund is projected to become insolvent sooner than expected — within three to five years.
The pandemic recession has pushed so many people out of work that funding for Medicare Part A, via payroll taxes, is down.
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How serious is our declining population growth problem?

The implications of a shrinking population on our economic growth are potentially big, but Marketplace senior economic contributor Chris Farrell thinks there's some solutions to tap.
Embracing technology during the pandemic could help, says Chris Farrell.
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Oregon retirement savings program offers national roadmap

Economists found the automatic IRA program OregonSaves meaningfully increased retirement savings.
The success of OregonSaves, an automatic IRA program, suggests making it a national plan.
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Despite more savings, American households still have a lot of debt

Who's taking on debt for what reasons, and why paying it down is good for your financial and mental health.
Recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows the overall amount of household debt increased steadily in 2020.
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Is the GameStop saga a sign of a stock market bubble?

One thing that bubbles have in common? The unpredictable consequences of economy-wide innovations.
speculative fevers often emerge during times of major economic and technological change. "And in essence, these speculators are accelerating the rise of a new economy," says Marketplace senior economics contributor Chris Farrell.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Multigenerational households make good economic sense

The most recent numbers we have show 20% of the American population is living in multigenerational households.
"The multigenerational home is a safety net, yes. But the bigger story is the compelling economics of multiple generations living under one roof," says Marketplace senior economics contributor Chris Farrell.
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