James Heintz, Economics Department Chair

The Economics Department is thrilled to welcome the new Chair, James Heintz, Andrew Glyn Professor of Economics and Director, Economics and Human Rights Program at PERI. The Department is fortunate to have a leader who embodies its heterodox tradition, with a deep commitment to seeing UMass Economics lead the discipline to novel ways of thinking about old economic issues and to recognition and innovative analysis of new and pressing economic problems. Thought leadership and socially engaged economics are needed now more than ever as the country and the global community confront the challenges of inequality, exclusion, racial injustice, climate change, exacerbated by the impact of the health pandemic.

James Heintz holds a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts. He is an internationally recognized leader on research on economic policy issues, including job creation, global labor standards, the distributive consequences of macroeconomic policies, and human rights. His policy work has focused on the U.S. as well as developing countries, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, the Gambia, Madagascar, and South Africa.

His office is located at 105 Crotty Hall and he can be reached by phone 545-4815 or chair@econs.umass.edu.