W. Michael Cox is senior vice president and chief economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. He advises the Bank president on monetary policy and economic issues and heads the free enterprise research group.

Cox authors the Bank's annual report essays on rising American living standards and the New Economy. These reports have received extensive attention from leading publications, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Fortune, Business Week and Investor's Business Daily, which reach an audience of over 200 million. He is also widely published in the nation's leading economics journals, such as the Journal of Monetary Economics and the Review of Economics and Statistics.

Cox's ability to make plain sense out of difficult economic issues has made him a frequent guest on national radio, television and Internet programs, including CNN, Voice of America and National Public Radio. He appeared on John Stossel's ABC program "Is America #1?"

Cox believes today's economy is transitioning to a new era—a so-called new paradigm. He battles economic doomsayers in his book, Myths of Rich and Poor, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. His understanding of technology's importance in the free enterprise economy of tomorrow inspired a Wired magazine interview to name him a "Prophet of Boom."

As past president of the Association of Private Enterprise Education, Cox actively promoted market solutions to economic problems. He collaborates with other proponents of free enterprise through his positions as CATO Institute adjunct scholar and National Center for Policy Analysis senior fellow.

University students make up one of Cox's favorite audiences. He has taught economics at Southern Methodist University since 1985. His 31 years of university teaching also include Virginia Tech, the University of Rochester and the University of Western Ontario.

Cox received his undergraduate degree in business and economics from Hendrix College and his Ph.D. in economics from Tulane University.