New School’s McGahey to discuss economic development in declining industrial regions

The New School’s Richard McGahey will give a lecture titled “Economic Development Strategy in Declining Regions: Philanthropy, Racial Exclusion and Economic Equity” on Tuesday, April 9 at 2 p.m. in 302-304 Gordon Hall.

McGahey will explore the case of metropolitan Detroit as he compares theories of regional development in declining industrial regions. Declining industrial regions face a host of problems, including sprawl, economic loss, fragmented governance, and, in the United States, racial segregation and hostility. In considering different regional development theories, McGahey will also assess southeast Michigan’s New Economy Initiative (NEI), a $100 million investment by private philanthropic institutions. NEI was supported by foundations interested in addressing economic inequality and racial segregation, but the resulting grants focus more on generic entrepreneurial development. The analysis suggests that philanthropy is challenged in addressing economic decline and racial divisions, in part because it does not use a specific framework making equity a central aspect of development.

McGahey’s perspective may be relevant in light of the growing ties between the campus and the city of Springfield. Many UMass Amherst programs are working on projects to help revitalize the industrial city. One of those endeavors is the Wellspring Collaborative, which aims to strengthen Springfield’s economy by channeling the purchasing power of the region’s largest employers through new worker-owned businesses in city neighborhoods. Wellspring is co-directed by Fred Rose, a researcher at CPPA, and Emily Kawano, executive director of the Center for Popular Economics.

McGahey teaches at the Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy at the New School. He has a Ph.D. in economics from the New School, and has worked extensively in public policy and philanthropy. His public service work includes serving as economic policy advisor to Sen. Edward Kennedy, as executive director of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, and as assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Labor. At the Ford Foundation, he was director of impact assessment, and he consults with several foundations on strategy assessment.