Anthony Philip Thirlwall (21 April 1941 – 8 November 2023) was a British economist who was Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Kent.

He was the author of the bestselling textbook Economics of Development: Theory and Evidence (Palgrave Macmillan)[1] now in its ninth edition.

Perhaps his most notable contribution was to show that if long-run balance of payments equilibrium is a requirement for a country, its growth of national income can be approximated by the ratio of the growth of exports to the income elasticity of demand for imports (Thirlwall's Law).

[2] He was educated at the Harrow Weald County Grammar School (1952–59) where he was first taught economics by Merlyn Rees who later became Home Secretary in the Government of James Callaghan 1976-79.

In the 1990s he was active in the campaign against Britain joining the Euro, being a Trustee of the New Europe Research Trust and a Council Member of Business for Sterling.