Nicholas Barr has an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.

He is the author of numerous books and articles. His teaching includes economic theory, public economics, the economics of the welfare state, the political economy of post-communist transition and topics in public policy.

Since the mid-1980s he has been active in the international debate about financing higher education, about which he has written extensively, advocating a system of income-contingent student loans administered alongside income tax or social security contributions. In the UK, he argued for many years for tuition fees fully covered by income-contingent loans – arguments that culminated in the 2006 reforms in England. He was an adviser to the Australian West Committee, has contributed to policy in New Zealand, and advised the Hungarian government on the design of their student loan system.

He is also involved in pensions policy, with continuing activity in Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America.