Economy and Society

Economy and Society

The Economy and Society concentration, unlike traditional economics majors, provides an interdisciplinary and global framework of analysis. We place the economy in its historical and social contexts with an eye to finding patterns and differences in socio-economic phenomena across place and time. Applying a broad interdisciplinary lens - drawing from theories of economics, political economy, sociology, history, anthropology, world systems theory, and ecology, among others - students will investigate the vital nexus between the economic, social, ecological, and political issues of the 21st century, their history, current manifestation, and possible alternatives.

The categories of study in Economy & Society include, but are not limited to:

  • Globalization and Socio-Economic Transformations
  • Migration and the Global Economy
  • Multipolar International Orders
  • Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance
  • Critiques of Capitalism and Alternatives
  • Economic Development and Historical Models of Industrialization
  • Sustainability and Development Paths
  • Neoliberalism and Its Discontents
  • Climate Change Economics, Policy and Justice
  • Global Inequality, Equity and Poverty
  • Economic Growth and Degrowth
  • Automation, Digitalization and the Future of Work
  • International Institutions and Governance of the Global Commons
  • Ecological Breakdown and Green Capitalism
  • The Political Economy of the Global Food System
  • Financialization, Money and Debt
  • Employment Policy and Labor Markets
  • International Trade and Global Supply Chains
  • Human Capital and Innovation
  • Female Migration as a Tool for Development: The Case of Migrant Women in Senegal
  • Development for Whom? Understanding the Global Imprint of Contentious Urban Development Under a Neoliberal Order
  • The Pot of Gold on the Other Side of the Atlantic: Transatlantic Relations and Irish Neoliberalism
  • Care Work and Global Migration: A Critique of the Devaluation and Commodification of Women’s Labor
  • The Resilience of the Restaurant Industry during Economic Recessions: A Comparative Study of the Financial Crisis of 2007- 2009 and the COVID-19 Recession 
  • Promises Broken: Neoliberal Commodification of Labor, Health and Animal Life in the Covid-19 Crisis.
  • Envisioning an Economy that Works: Abandoning Growth to Achieve a Better Life for All
  • The Marketization of Higher Education: Public Investment in the Fallacy of Fairness and Opportunity
  • Expanding The Neoliberal Box: An Analysis of The Effects of Financialization on U.S. Households

Johann Jaeckel, Chair
Research: Political Economy; History of Economic Thought; Classical and Marxist Economics; Growth and Inequality; Economic Sociology; Labor Economics; Socially Responsible Investment; Automation and Work; Critiques of Capitalism.  

Guney Isikara
Research: Politics and Economics of Climate Change; (De)Growth); Capitalism and Ecological Collapse; Classical Political Economy; Ecological Economics; Marxist Theory; Economic History; Comparative Economic Systems; History of Economic Thought.

Roxana Julia
Research: Environmental and Social Dimensions of Economic Governance; Climate Change Economics and Justice; Political Economy of Food Systems; Alternatives to Neoliberal Globalization; Energy Transitions and Policy. 

Ascension Mejorado
Research: Industrialization and Economic Development; Technical Progress and Its Impact on Employment; Exchange Rates and International Trade; The European Union: Fiscal Policy; Monetary Policy.