Ed McKenna's work lies at the intersection of economics and philosophy. He is particularly interested in the relationship between philosophical conceptions of justice and fairness and economic theories that explain the distribution of income. John Rawls and Charles Taylor in philosophy and Sidney Weintraub in economics have provided the framework in which he works.

His other major area of interest concerns the economic causes of inflation and unemployment. He characterizes his work as Post Keynesian, and has been primarily concerned with demonstrating that increasing quantities of money are the result, rather than the cause, of inflation. This area of research is referred to as the theory of endogenous money supply.
A publication he co-authored (with Diane Zannoni), that reflects his research interests is "The Right to a Job: a Post Keynesian Perspective," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Summer 2007, Vol. 29, No. 4 PP, 557-574.