# Allison Schrager

> Allison Schrager is an economist who turned the study of risk into a full-contact reporting beat - hanging out with brothel madams, big-wave surfers, paparazzi and horse breeders to figure out how the best risk-takers actually decide. A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Bloomberg Opinion columnist and City Journal contributing editor, she holds a PhD in economics from Columbia and once helped Nobel laureate Robert Merton design retirement products. Her 2019 book 'An Economist Walks into a Brothel' argued that financial theory belongs everywhere people gamble with their futures; her follow-up, 'Worth the Risk,' is due from Yale University Press in September 2026.

- **Role:** Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute
- **Organizations:** Manhattan Institute, Bloomberg Opinion, City Journal, LifeCycle Finance Partners, LLC
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Undergraduate degree, University of Edinburgh, PhD in Economics, Columbia University
- **Known for:** Author of 'An Economist Walks into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk', Award-winning Bloomberg Opinion columnist on monetary policy, labor markets and retirement, Co-founder of risk advisory firm LifeCycle Finance Partners, LLC

## Career timeline

- **early career** — Consulted for international organizations including the OECD and IMF
- **early career** — Led retirement product innovation at Dimensional Fund Advisors, collaborating with Nobel laureate Robert Merton
- **2010s** — Economics journalist at Quartz
- **2018** — Published 'An Economist Walks into a Brothel' (Portfolio/Penguin)
- **2019** — Delivered TEDxSanAntonio talk 'How to Know When You Are Taking Enough Risk'
- **current** — Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and contributing editor at City Journal
- **current** — Bloomberg Opinion columnist; writes the Substack newsletter 'Known Unknowns'
- **2026** — 'Worth the Risk' scheduled for publication by Yale University Press (September 2026)

## Achievements

- Author of 'An Economist Walks into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk'
- Award-winning Bloomberg Opinion columnist on monetary policy, labor markets and retirement
- Co-founder of risk advisory firm LifeCycle Finance Partners, LLC
- Collaborator with Nobel laureate Robert C. Merton on retirement finance
- Bylines in the Economist, Reuters, Foreign Affairs, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Wired, National Review and Playboy
- TED / TEDx speaker and World Economic Forum (Davos) participant

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — New book 'Worth the Risk' due from Yale University Press, arguing that fear of risk limits personal and economic potential.
- **2025-01** — Participated in the World Economic Forum's Davos 2025 gathering.

## Links

- Website: https://allisonschrager.com/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/AllisonSchrager

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/allison-schrager
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-02