Dr. Gary A. Wagner holds the Acadiana Business Economist/BORSF Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he monitors the region's economic environment, conducts research and analysis, and engages with external stakeholders on behalf of the Moody College of Business and University. Prior to joining UL Lafayette, he served as Vice President and Senior Regional Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. 

Dr. Wagner's research interests range from regional economics to state and local public finance, with a particular focus on economic development. His work has appeared in many leading economics journals including the Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Law and Economics, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, National Tax Journal, Economics and Politics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, and Research Policy. He has authored or coauthored more than 60 peer-reviewed articles and reports and delivered more than 400 presentations on national and regional economic conditions. 

Dr. Wagner currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Public Finance Review and previously served as Co-Editor of Contemporary Economic Policy (2020–2026). He is a quarterly participant in the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Survey of Professional Forecasters and was named a Research Fellow at the FDIC's Center for Financial Research in 2024. He has held visiting appointments at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Aarhus University (Denmark), and Macquarie University (Australia), and served on the Governor's Council of Economic Advisors in Arkansas from 2008–2011. Dr. Wagner holds a Ph.D. in Economics from West Virginia University.