Recommended by Adam Tooze, FP columnist, professor of history, and director of the European Institute at Columbia University
This fascinating pairing can help readers understand how Russia’s and China’s paths have diverged. Isabella Weber explains how China’s communist regime escaped the 1980s trend toward economic shock therapy, while Chris Miller retraces how the Soviet experts around former President Mikhail Gorbachev studied China’s reforms—and tried and failed to emulate them.
Get more information about the book and reviews on her website, www.isabellaweber.com.
The Biden-Harris administration’s proposed investment in care infrastructure would benefit caregivers, those who receive care—and the country’s bottom line. Investing in the U.S. care infrastructure as outlined in the Biden-Harris administration’s “Build Back Better” proposals will have tremendous economic benefits—but not just in the ways you might think. The case for investing in the care workforce is usually framed around the important benefits to family caregivers (who are predominantly women) and those who receive care (children, older adults and people with health issues that require long-term care). The macroeconomic benefit isn’t often discussed. 
Faculty members at the Department of Economics have spearheaded efforts to transform the way economics is taught. Samuel Bowles, Professor Emeritus, has been at the forefront of these efforts, together with other UMass Economics faculty members, graduate students, and colleagues from other institutions – including Columbia University, University College London, Oxford University, and others. Recently, this exciting initiative was the subject of an article in New Yorker magazine – “Is It Time for a New Economics Curriculum?” 
Laura Doyle, Professor of English and Mwangi wa Githinji, associate professor of economics was awarded a $500,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to create a Mellon Fellows Program and a Graduate Certificate Program in Decolonial Global Studies (DGS). A long-developing vision of both the certificate will highlight both the collective histories hidden—or stricken—from view by colonialist narratives and the perspectives and values that can address struggles in the world today. 
Economics has many flaws, yet few are as broadly oppressive as its illusions about gender. Jayati Ghosh, Umass Professor of Economics created a 3 minute video animation that takes a look at the gender obstacles. 
A recent analysis of President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” economic package conducted by UMass Amherst economists Lenore Palladino and Chirag Lala has been cited by the White House in promotion of the proposal. Palladino and Lala, who analyzed the plan for the Political Economy Research Institute on behalf of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Center for American Progress (CAP), found that the $400 billion investment in home- and community-based services (HCBS) in the President’s plan would create more than 777,000 good-paying home care jobs across the country over the next decade, which would help address the industry’s severe job shortage. The June report also found that the proposal would ultimately result in approximately 1 million new jobs, including both directly created home care jobs and indirect job creation as those workers spend their new wages in the economy. 
After over a year and a half of empty offices, silent classrooms, and the massive movement online, the Department of Economics is returning to campus as it builds back from the enormous human and economic devastation of the covid crisis. As we move forward, we are acutely aware that the pandemic is not yet over and significant challenges remain. Through these hard times, the department remains committed to excellence in teaching and education, continuing the UMass commitment to encouraging an unparalleled diversity of approaches to economic thought and problem-solving. The department’s faculty continues to provide innovative answers to today’s pressing issues, willing to dispute the conventional wisdom when needed. In short, the Department of Economics is continuing its proud tradition of changing the way we think about economics. This tradition is needed now more than ever. 