Derek Neal is the William C. Norby Professor of Economics in the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics at the University of Chicago. His research examines the impact of criminal justice policies on racial inequality in the United States as well as the design of incentive and accountability systems for US educators.

Neal received the Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2016. He is a Fellow of the Society of Labor Economists and a past President of the Midwest Economics Association. He has served as Editor of the Journal of Human Resources, the Journal of Labor Economics, and the Journal of Political Economy. Neal earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Virginia.

At Chicago from 1991-1998 and since 2001