Meet the Authors

Jonathan McMillan is a pseudonym. Behind it stands an unlikely pair: a banker and an economist. The banker earned his B.A. and M.A. in economics from the University of St. Gallen and then began his career at a large global bank. Working in various roles out of Zurich, New York, and London, he gained deep insights into the inner workings of banking. Because of this author’s position, Capitalism and the Market Economy is published under a pseudonym.

The other author is Jürg Müller, an economist. He holds two B.A. degrees from the University of St. Gallen, an M.Phil. in economics from the University of Cambridge, and a Ph.D. from ETH Zurich. In his research, he investigated the impact of banking regulation on macroeconomic stability and welfare. Parts of his thesis were published in the Journal of Economic Theory.

After his doctoral studies, Jürg started as an economics editor at Neue Zürcher Zeitung, where he covered the financial sector. He later joined Avenir Suisse, Switzerland's largest think tank, as a senior fellow. In 2023, he was elected as the director of Avenir Suisse and became a lecturer at the economics faculty of the University of Zurich.

The authors came to know each other during their undergraduate studies. They lost touch in the years after due to their different career choices. In 2011, their paths crossed again in a London pub. Disappointed by how their peers in banking and academia handled the financial crisis of 2008, they decided to set forth on a writing journey together.

In their first book, The End of Banking, they shared their complementary insights into the mechanisms of modern finance. The book was translated into eight languages. It received widespread praise from the financial community, but failed to spark a public debate due to its more theoretical nature. This is why they decided to write Capitalism and the Market Economy, which presents an actionable reform plan to tackle today’s economic problems at their roots.