Jason M. Barr is a professor of economics at Rutgers University-Newark. One of the world’s foremost experts on the economics of skyscrapers, he is the author of Building the Skyline: The Birth and Growth of Manhattan Skyscrapers and has had his research featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economist, Curbed, and Architectural Record. A Long Island native, Barr received his BA from Cornell University, his MFA in creative writing from Emerson College in Boston, and his PhD from Columbia University. He has also taught at Dartmouth College and Columbia University. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, StarTrek.com, Dezeen.com, Scientific American, and Irish Independent. He currently writes a blog about skyscrapers, cities, and economics. His favorite skyscraper is the Empire State Building.