Robin Wells

Robin Elizabeth Wells
Born	Robin Elizabeth Wells 1959
Nationality	American
Occupation	Economist, author, yoga instructor
Known for	Co-authoring economics textbooks with Paul Krugman
Education	Ph.D. in Economics
Spouse(s)	Paul Krugman

Robin Elizabeth Wells (born 1959) is an American economist, author, and educator best known as the co-author, alongside her husband Paul Krugman, of several influential economics textbooks that are used in universities across the world. Her academic career has spanned positions at several prominent institutions, and her collaborative work with Krugman—a Nobel Memorial Prize laureate in Economic Sciences—has helped shape how introductory and intermediate economics is taught to a generation of students. Beyond her textbook writing, Wells has contributed commentary on economic policy, particularly on topics such as healthcare and fiscal policy, and has also worked as a yoga instructor, reflecting a range of interests that extend beyond the academic sphere.

Early Life

Robin Elizabeth Wells was born in 1959 in the United States. Details regarding her family background and childhood remain largely undocumented in public sources. What is known is that she developed an early interest in economics and pursued higher education in the field, eventually attending the University of Chicago, one of the most prominent centers of economic thought in the world.

The University of Chicago's economics department has long been associated with free-market economics and the so-called "Chicago school" of economic thought. Wells's training at this institution provided her with a rigorous analytical foundation that would inform her subsequent academic career and her collaborative textbook work. Her time at Chicago placed her among a cohort of economists who would go on to shape academic and policy discussions in the decades that followed.

Education

Wells attended the University of Chicago, where she studied economics. According to records in the Mathematics Genealogy Project, she completed a doctoral degree, which is consistent with her subsequent appointments at research universities. The University of Chicago's doctoral program in economics is among the most selective and rigorous in the United States, and its graduates have included numerous Nobel laureates and influential policy advisors.

Career

Academic Positions

Following the completion of her graduate studies, Wells held academic positions at several universities. Her institutional affiliations have included positions in economics departments where she conducted research and taught courses in microeconomics and macroeconomics. While comprehensive details of her individual research portfolio are not extensively documented in available sources, her career trajectory placed her in environments that facilitated her later collaboration with Paul Krugman.

Wells's academic work has intersected with several areas of economics, and her teaching experience at the university level informed the pedagogical approach that she and Krugman would later bring to their jointly authored textbooks. Her background in both microeconomic and macroeconomic theory positioned her as a versatile economist capable of contributing to comprehensive introductory texts that cover the full range of principles courses typically offered at the undergraduate level.

Textbook Authorship

Wells is best known professionally for her role as co-author of a series of economics textbooks published by Worth Publishers (later part of Macmillan Learning). These texts, written in collaboration with her husband Paul Krugman, have become standard selections for introductory economics courses at colleges and universities in the United States and internationally.

The textbooks authored by Krugman and Wells include Economics, Microeconomics, and Macroeconomics, which are structured to cover the core principles of the discipline. The texts have gone through multiple editions and are noted for their accessible writing style, real-world examples, and integration of current economic events into the presentation of theoretical concepts. The collaboration between Wells and Krugman has produced what is considered one of the more prominent introductory economics textbook series in the contemporary American market.

The nature of the collaboration between Wells and Krugman has been described in some detail in a 2010 profile in The New Yorker by Larissa MacFarquhar. According to that profile, Wells plays a substantial editorial and intellectual role in the couple's joint projects. The article described how the two work together, with Wells serving as a critical reader and shaper of Krugman's prose and arguments, both in textbooks and in his other written work. This collaborative dynamic has been a defining feature of their professional partnership, with Wells contributing not only economic expertise but also an editorial sensibility that has influenced the final form of their published work.

The textbooks have been translated into multiple languages and adopted by institutions around the world, as reflected by catalog records in national libraries of several countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, France, and Latvia, among others.

Commentary and Public Writing

In addition to her textbook work, Wells has contributed to public discourse on economic policy. She has written for The Huffington Post (now HuffPost), where she has been listed as a contributing author. Her contributions to the publication have addressed various economic and policy topics, reflecting her interest in applying economic analysis to contemporary public debates.

Wells has also been listed as a contributor by The Guardian, indicating her engagement with international media outlets on economic matters.

In a 2012 interview with PBS NewsHour, Wells discussed topics including universal healthcare coverage and the economic situation in Europe. During the conversation, she offered her perspectives on the structure of health insurance markets and the challenges facing European economies during the eurozone crisis. The interview also touched on her working relationship with Krugman and the nature of their intellectual collaboration. Wells articulated views on the importance of universal coverage in healthcare, drawing on economic principles to frame her arguments about market failures in the health insurance sector.

Wells has also appeared on C-SPAN, where she has participated in discussions related to economics and public policy.

Yoga Instruction

In addition to her work as an economist, Wells has worked as a yoga instructor. This aspect of her professional life was noted in the PBS NewsHour profile, which described her as "an economist who's also a yoga instructor." This dual career reflects an interest in wellness and physical practice alongside her academic and writing work, though details about the scope or duration of her yoga instruction career are not extensively documented in available sources.

Personal Life

Robin Wells is married to Paul Krugman, a Nobel Memorial Prize-winning economist and prominent public intellectual who is known for his academic contributions to international trade theory and economic geography, as well as his long-running opinion column in The New York Times. The couple's marriage has also been a professional partnership, with their joint authorship of economics textbooks forming a significant part of both their careers.

A 2010 profile in The New Yorker by Larissa MacFarquhar provided insight into the couple's personal and professional dynamic. The article described how Wells and Krugman vacation in St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where the pace of life is slower and the phone does not ring as often. The profile painted a picture of a couple whose intellectual lives are deeply intertwined, with Wells serving as a close collaborator and critical interlocutor for Krugman's work.

In September 2025, Krugman delivered a lecture at Wijnhaven, part of Leiden University in the Netherlands, in which he discussed economic and social challenges facing American men. While Wells was not the subject of the lecture, the event reflected the continuing public prominence of the couple's intellectual circle.

Recognition

Wells's primary recognition stems from her role as co-author of the Krugman and Wells economics textbook series, which has achieved substantial adoption in university economics curricula across the United States and internationally. The textbooks' presence in the catalogs of national libraries in multiple countries—including Germany, France, South Korea, Latvia, and Greece—attests to their international reach.

Her work has been documented by the Library of Congress, which maintains an authority record for her as an author. She is also represented in the collections of Yale University, which holds records related to her published work.

The profile published in The New Yorker in 2010, written by Larissa MacFarquhar, brought significant public attention to Wells's role in the intellectual partnership with Krugman. The article underscored her influence on Krugman's public-facing work and highlighted the depth of her own economic expertise. Her appearances on PBS NewsHour and C-SPAN further established her as a recognized voice in economic commentary, distinct from her role as a textbook author.

Legacy

Robin Wells's most enduring contribution to the field of economics is likely her co-authorship of the Krugman and Wells textbook series. Introductory economics textbooks play a foundational role in shaping how students first encounter economic concepts, and the widespread adoption of these texts means that Wells's pedagogical influence has extended to a large number of students across multiple countries and academic systems. The textbooks' emphasis on real-world applications and accessible prose has been a distinguishing feature, setting them apart in a competitive market for introductory economics materials.

Wells's career also illustrates the often underappreciated role of collaborative authorship in academic publishing. While Paul Krugman's individual prominence as a Nobel laureate and public commentator is substantial, the New Yorker profile and other sources have documented Wells's significant contributions to the couple's joint output, suggesting that the intellectual products associated with the Krugman name are, in important respects, the result of a partnership.

Her contributions to public economic commentary through outlets such as The Huffington Post and The Guardian represent a further dimension of her influence, extending economic analysis to general audiences beyond the academy. In a period marked by significant economic upheaval—including the 2008 financial crisis and the European debt crisis—Wells's public writing contributed to broader efforts to make economic reasoning accessible to non-specialist readers.

As an economist trained at the University of Chicago who went on to collaborate with one of the most prominent economists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Wells occupies a distinctive position in the landscape of American economics. Her career reflects both the rigors of academic economic training and the broader possibilities for economists to engage with public life through teaching, writing, and commentary.