What is Economics?
Economics is the study of human energy—how we organize our efforts to get what we want. Market exchange plays a central role in this process, but processes of conflict and coordination that take place outside of markets are also important.
2024 Philip Gamble Memorial Lecture with Cecilia Conrad CEO, Lever for Change
Economist Cecilia Conrad, the founder and chief executive officer of Lever for Change and senior advisor at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, will present the annual Philip Gamble Memorial Lecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Thursday, April 18, at 5 p.m. in Bowker Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.
In her lecture, “Philanthropy, Wealth Redistribution and Equity,” Conrad will interrogate philanthropic practices that reinforce racialized inequality and explore evolving practices in the field of philanthropy to make giving more equitable. She will draw on her experience as an economist in academia & philanthropy to examine how race & gender impact economic status.
Fidan Kurtulus Research Cited in The Council of Economic Advisers Research in the 2024 Economic Report of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Economic Policy Priorities
Fidan Kurtulus research cited in The Council of Economic Advisers research in the 2024 Economic Report of the Biden-Harris Administration’s economic policy priorities. The topics covered in this year’s report include: The Benefits of Full Employment; The Year in Review and the Years Ahead; Population, Aging, and the Economy; Increasing the Supply of Affordable Housing; International Trade and Investment Flows; Accelerating the Clean Energy Transition; and An Economic Framework for Understanding Artificial Intelligence. Fidan's research can be found in (Chapter 1, The Benefits of Full Employment)
Isabella Weber Featured in Spain's Newspaper, El Pais: ‘It’s time to cut rates’
Isabella Weber, one of the first to blame part of the recent inflation on corporate profit, is calling on central banks to change their monetary policy. Weber is perhaps the greatest emerging voice in the always fertile—and often neglected—field of economic heterodoxy. Isabella Weber was one of the first to blame much of the inflationary escalation of recent years on corporate margins, and today is calling on central banks to immediately lower rates.
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Statement on Racist Violence and Social Exclusion
Black Lives Matter. We declare and affirm this truth in the face of any verbal or material attempt to deny it. The current tragedies and structures of violence, exclusion and exploitation of Black people were made by human actors. They date back to colonial times and slavery but persist to today. Teaching and research in the economics profession have often served to legitimize such structures portraying them as the outcome of the free and fair play of the market. The UMass Economics Department has a long tradition of research dedicated to uncovering structures of oppression, exploitation, exclusion and violence. This tradition must be rethought and adapted to place racial injustice at the center, as a dimension that should not be overlooked.