Tom Velk

Who is Tom Velk?

Tom Velk is a Libertarian-leaning American economist who teaches and lives in Montreal, Canada. He is the chair of the North American studies program at McGill University and a professor in that university's economics department. His research interests are in monetary economics and public policy, specifically the de-regulation of money markets and the usefulness of central banks.

Velk holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin. He has edited a number of books on Canadian and American public policy issues. Additionally, he has served on the Board of Governors of the American Federal Reserve System as a visiting professor and consultant, and worked for the World Bank. In 1982-3 Velk was a visiting scholar at the department of economics at Dartmouth College and in 1974 served as a consultant to the Joint Economic Committee of the United States Congress.

Velk is a regular contributor to media coverage of economic issues, writing a recurring column, "From the Right", for CBC News Viewpoint in 2005-6. Velk has also written for The Wall Street Journal, the Canadian Forum, Globe and Mail, Financial Post, Montreal Gazette, Le Devoir, and the CBC.