Soumaya Anne Keynes (born 31 July 1989) is a British economist and journalist and current columnist at the Financial Times. In addition to her work as a columnist for the FT, she started hosting a new podcast for them in May 2024, on economic matters. Before joining the Financial Times, she worked for eight years as the Britain economics editor at The Economist magazine. She co-hosted The Economist's Money Talks podcast, and co-founded and co-hosted Trade Talks, a podcast covering economic trade, from 2017-2021. Her work at The Economist was focused on the US economy and the trade policies of Donald Trump's first presidency. Her career in economic research began as a policy adviser for Her Majesty's Treasury in London, looking at banking and credit. Afterward, she worked at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, focusing on pensions and public finances.
Early life and family Soumaya Keynes was born in Britain on 31 July 1989, to Zelfa Hourani and conservationist Randal Keynes. Her younger brother, Skandar Keynes (born September 5, 1991), is a political adviser and former actor. Soumaya Keynes also worked as a child actress. On her maternal side, her grandfather was Lebanese author Cecil Hourani, an advisor to the late Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba. The Hourani family were immigrants to Manchester from Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon. Cecil's two brothers were Albert Hourani, a prominent historian of the Middle East, and George Hourani, philosopher, historian, and classicist.. Keynes also has Persian and Turkish ancestry on this side of her family. On her paternal side, she is the great-great-niece of John Maynard Keynes, a British economist who had a large impact on macroeconomic theory and policy. Keynes herself says it is partially because of this relationship that she initially avoided macro-economics in her studies, focusing instead on microeconomics. She is also the great-great-great-granddaughter of British naturalist Charles Darwin through her great-grandmother Margaret Elizabeth Darwin.
Education Keynes attended Trinity College, Cambridge for both her undergraduate and master's degrees. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 2010 (1st Class) and a MPhil Economics in 2011. She completed her MPhil with distinction. It was during her time at the University of Cambridge that she learned of, and decided to join, the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Career
Institute for Fiscal Studies Keynes joined the Institute for Fiscal Studies in 2012. During her work at the institute for Fiscal Studies she frequently published research with Carl Emmerson, Rowena Crawford, and Gemma Tetlow. Her work with the Institute covered economic reforms to the UK's state pension, the UK Government's fiscal policies, economic analyses of health variations in the UK and US, and a variety of other topics. Throughout her research papers she aimed to tell a story, moving from previous literature into how her work will either change what was previously thought, or expand upon what was previously thought. Her final report with the Institute for Fiscal Studies was published on May 22, 2015.
The Economist Keynes joined The Economist in June 2015. She began by writing the Free Exchange column, which provides a literature review of recent papers in economics. Her first article with the column, Public Debt - How Much is Too Much, was published June 3, 2015. She was promoted to US economics and trade editor in June 2018, and in 2019 became the trade and globalization editor at The Economist. Keynes worked on multiple projects during her time with The Economist. Her early work had a wide scope and covered a variety of topics, such as the Big Mac Index. Her latest work has mostly focused on the United States Trade War under the Trump Administration. Recently she has covered the impacts of trade disputes such as the need for firms to reduce investments, its effect on consumers, the risks to the World Trade Organization, and the changes to America's relationship with countries around the world. Keynes has been on The Economist radio podcast Money Talks multiple times. Much of her work on the podcast is in the same areas as her writing, focused on trade and the Donald Trump presidency. She has also done episodes in a similar vein to her previous work with the Institute for Fiscal Studies, examining the impact of economic research on public policy. During her work with The Economist she has expressed multiple personal opinions on the material she covers. She has repeatedly stated that she feels Trump is damaging the economy through acting in an unpredictable manner. Keynes supports a rules based system for international trade, through bodies like the World Trade Organization, to resolve any discrepancies and disputes between countries. Keynes' work, during her time with The Economist, is not restricted to solely their events and publications. She has written for a variety of newspapers and magazines, such as Prospect magazine. She has hosted and chaired events, such as the 2019 World Trade Symposium in New York, and participated as a panel member for a variety of panels. She is a Poynter fellow at Yale University, where she has talked on Trump's trade policy. Additionally, she's given multiple interviews both about her work and her transition from research to journalism.
Trade Talks Podcast Keynes co-hosts the podcast Trade Talks with Chad Bown, an economist at The Peterson Institute for International Economics. The podcast began in 2017 and covers the intricacies of international trade policy from the perspective of two economists. They have covered topics such as the Trump Administration's legal battles with the World Trade Organization, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the impact of tariffs on washing machines. The podcast frequently features notable guests from the World Bank, World Trade Organization, and various universities, newspapers, and research bodies. Examples include Caroline Freund of the World Bank and Peter Van den Bossche of the World Trade Institute at the University of Bern.
Select scholarship and works
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