Folbre to Deliver Samuel Bowles Lecture

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Nancy Folbre
Nancy Folbre

Nancy Folbre, professor emerita of economics, will deliver the third annual Samuel Bowles Lecture “Specialization, Power, and Inequality: The Case of the Care Penalty” on Thursday, March 1 at 4 p.m. in Crotty Hall.

Folbre argues that several distinctive features of care provision weaken the links between value created and rewards paid. As a result, care providers (predominantly women) often find themselves in a weak economic position. The implications of this argument reach beyond gender inequality, illustrating how the relative bargaining power of specific groups of workers can affect their remuneration independently of productivity, discrimination or more general class dynamics.

Folbre is a former recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and the author of several well-known books, including “The Field Guide to the U.S. Economy.” She has consulted for the United Nations Human Development Office, the World Bank and other organizations.

Presented by the department of economics, the lecture is free to the public. A reception will follow.