Rate My Professor Stephen Kinsella

Stephen Kinsella is Professor of Economics and Head of the Department of Economics at the University of Limerick's Kemmy Business School. He also holds the position of Professor at the University's Health Research Institute, Research Associate at the Rhodes Centre for International Finance at Brown University, and Co-Director of UL's Immersive Software Engineering programme. Kinsella earned his PhD in Essays on the Irish Economy from the New School for Social Research in 2011, a PhD from the National University of Ireland Galway in 2007, an MEconSc from NUI Galway in 2003, and a BA (Mod) from Trinity College Dublin in 2002. His research specializations encompass macroeconomics, the Irish economy, stock-flow consistent macroeconomics, agent-based modeling, smart cities, and innovation. He leads key projects including +CityxChange, INCASE, and SMARTLAB, focusing on sustainable cities, economic networks, and natural capital integration into mainstream economics. Kinsella has authored numerous books, such as Austerity and Recovery in Ireland: Europe's Poster Child and the Great Recession (Oxford University Press, 2016), Computable Economics (Edward Elgar, 2011), Health workforce planning models, tools and processes in five countries (Health Research Board, 2016), and What if Ireland Defaults (Orpen Press, 2012). Prominent journal articles include Modular structure in labour networks reveals skill basins (Research Policy, 2022, with N. O'Clery), Visualising economic crises using accounting models (Accounting, Organizations and Society, 2019), The Political Economy of Fiscal Policy in Ireland (Oxford Handbook of Irish Politics, 2021, with A. Regan), and Intangible capital, digitalisation and scale: Evidence and interactions in firm-level production and competition dynamics (Research in International Business and Finance, 2026, with M. McMahon and E. Doyle).

In addition to his academic roles, Kinsella serves as Chief Economics Writer at The Currency.news and was a columnist for the Sunday Business Post for four years. In July 2024, he was appointed economic advisor to An Taoiseach. His contributions extend to public engagement, with writings for The Guardian, New York Times, and Irish Independent. Kinsella has received the Economic Commentator of the Year award in 2018, Smurfit Business Journalist of the Year in 2016, and the Excellence in Research Award: Early Career in 2015. He is a member of the American Economic Association since 2013 and the Irish Economic Association since 2007.