UMass Economist Jayati Ghosh Caps Busy Month of Appearances with Keynote Address at Global Forum on Democratizing Work

Jayati Ghosh, economics, has completed a whirlwind month of public speaking and media appearances by presenting the keynote address on the second day of the online Global Forum on Democratizing Work. Her speech, given during the event’s plenary session on Oct. 6, preceded a roundtable discussion about “The Relevance of Decommodifuing Work for People and the Planet.” The speech is available to view online for free by registering on the event’s site.

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Ghosh started her blitz of appearances in mid-September with the launch of a five-part virtual lecture series on feminist economics for the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET). The series guides viewers through the field of feminist economics and shows how our understanding of the economy, theory and policy changes with the adoption of a gender perspective.

The following week, on Sept. 22, Ghosh participated in an online climate debate, “International Cooperation: Who Governs and Who Funds the Climate Transition?” for INET, a recording of which can be viewed on INET’s site. Fellow UMass economist Robert Pollin, Distinguished Professor of Economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), was also a panel member in a separate discussion during the event, “What Must Be Done to Avert Climate Catastrophe?”

On Sept. 25, The Lancet published Ghosh’s perspective on “Home in the World: A Memoir,” the new book by Indian economist and philosopher Amartya Sen. Ghosh writes that the memoir is a “charming and absorbing book, which has the flavour of a relaxed conversation with a gifted raconteur,” in her extensive review.

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Ghosh then joined the Democratic Socialists of America International Committee on Sept. 28 for a discussion on debt, special drawing rights and a just global response to the pandemic, and took part in the second meeting of the United Nations’ High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs. Ghosh and her fellow experts on the board aim to provide focused guidance and recommendations to the U.N. to respond to current and future challenges in the post-COVID-19 world, including in the areas of leaving no one behind, building trust by addressing inequalities, improve digital cooperation, ensuring sustainable financing and boosting partnerships.

Finally, on Oct. 5, Ghosh was one of three experts who discussed “IMF surcharges: A necessary tool or counter-productive obstacle to a just and green recovery?,” during an online session of the World Bank’s Annual Meetings 2021 Civil Society Policy Forum.

Ghosh, who joined the department of economics in January 2021, focuses her research on gender care and work, Asian political economy and economics in the developing world, is also an editor of the upcoming book, “When Governments Fail: A Pandemic and Its Aftermath,” which is scheduled to be published in November by Columbia University Press. The new book will be the 20^th book she has authored or edited.