Howard Wial is executive director of the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois, Chicago, where he is also an associate research professor. He is a nonresident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. His work focuses on manufacturing and urban and regional economic development. He is also an expert on labor and employment policy, workforce development, innovation, productivity, and competitiveness.

He was previously a resident fellow of Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy Program. Prior to joining Brookings, he was research director of the Pennsylvania-based Keystone Research Center and the Working for America Institute; an economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Technology Assessment, and General Accounting Office; a professor of economics at Swarthmore College, Brandeis University, Carleton College, Brown University; and a professor of labor and industrial relations at Pennsylvania State University.

Recent Brookings publications include “Locating American Manufacturing: Trends in the Geography of Production”; “Why Does Manufacturing Matter? Which Manufacturing Matters? A Policy Framework”; “Responding to Manufacturing Job Loss: What Can Economic Development Policy Do?”; “Accelerating Advanced Manufacturing with New Research Centers”; “The Consequences of Metropolitan Manufacturing Decline: Testing Conventional Wisdom”; “Strengthening American Manufacturing: A New Federal Approach”; “Boosting Productivity, Innovation, and Growth through a National Innovation Foundation”; “MetroMonitor: Tracking Economic Recession and Recovery in America’s 100 Largest Metropolitan Areas”; and the Urban and Regional Policy and Its Effects series (Brookings Institution Press).

He is a frequent speaker to a variety of groups and a frequent contributor of commentary on radio, television, and other news media.

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