[Ideas] Julie Nelson: Economics As If People Mattered

Julie Nelson’s impassioned and perceptive work debunks the ingrained notion that our economic lives are separate from our moral values and human relationships. At a time when both political opinions and political solutions are polar opposites, she is critical of those who, right and left alike, see the economy as a machine soaked in self-interest. Things are not as they’ve been so easily painted. Enriched by feminist and humanist perspectives, Julie Nelson rethinks the relationship between self-interest, as the purported realm of commerce and ‘economic man’, and care, usually associated with women and non-economic activities. She argues that if we can free ourselves of 150 years of gender bias in our thinking, there is space to reconcile opposing views and to dare to imagine pragmatic solutions that involve corporations, non-profits, government, and individual responsibility.

ABOUT

Julie Nelson is Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and among the founders and most highly cited scholars in the field of feminist economics. She is most known for questioning the philosophy and methodology of economics and her research areas include the empirical analysis of household and individual behaviour, the teaching of economics, ecological economics, ethics and economics particularly in relation to climate change. Nelson offers original insights for understanding issues such as financial crisis, climate change, and behavioural economics. In various capacities, she has been at Harvard University, University of California-Davis, Brandeis University, the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tuft University, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Centre for the Study of Values in Public Life. She has authored and co-author several books and textbooks.

GOOD READS 

Macroeconomics in context (2009), Economics for Humans (2006), Feminist economics today: beyond economic man (2003), Feminism, objectivity and economics (1993).

KEY LINKS

Julie Nelson's website