past event
US Economy

SOF Digital Discussion: Taking Stock: The State of the US Economy in the Wake of the Pandemic

Join us for a wide-ranging discussion about the current state of the U.S. economy and its relative strength in a world attempting to recover from devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a conversation moderated by Gillian Tett, Chair of the Editorial Board and Editor-at-Large, US of the Financial TimesLisa Cook, Professor in the Department of Economics and at James Madison College at Michigan State University; Catherine Mann, Global Chief Economist at Citibank; and William Spriggs, Professor at Howard University and Chief Economist at the AFL-CIO; will explore the various dynamics at play in this moment, including the most recent government stimulus, the number of unemployed workers, and the disproportionate economic impacts endured by the most vulnerable and marginalized in our society. Other topics will include the role of fiscal policy in the recovery, as well as the prospect of inflation.  

*If you are not currently a member of the Society of Fellows, and are interested in joining, contact the SOF team at 970-544-7980 or sof@aspeninstitute.org.

Presenter: 

Dr. Catherine L. Mann is the Global Chief Economist at Citibank where she is responsible for thought leadership, research guidance of a global team of economists, and cross-fertilization of research across macroeconomics, fixed-income, and equities. Previously she was Chief Economist at the OECD and Finance Deputy to the G20, Rosenberg Professor of Global Finance at Brandeis University, and 20-plus years in Washington, DC including at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Federal Reserve Board of Governors, President’s Council of Economic Advisers, and the World Bank.  Dr. Mann received her PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her undergraduate degree is from Harvard University.  Her written work includes more than 85 scholarly articles and seven books.

William Spriggs is a professor in, and former Chair of, the Department of Economics at Howard University. He also serves as Chief Economist to the AFL-CIO, and in that role chairs the Economic Policy Working Group for the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, and serves on the board of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is currently on the Advisory Board to the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank’s Opportunity & Inclusive Growth Institute. From 2009 to 2012, Bill served as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor. From 2006 to 2009, he served as chairman of both the Healthcare Trust for UAW Retirees of the Ford Motor Company, and the UAW Retirees of the Dana Corporation Health and Welfare Trust. In 2016 he received the National Academy of Social Insurance’s Robert M. Ball Award for Outstanding Achievements in Social Insurance.

Gillian Tett serves as the chair of the editorial board and editor-at-large, US of the Financial Times. She writes weekly columns, covering a range of economic, financial, political and social issues. She is also the co-founder of FT Moral Money, a twice weekly newsletter that tracks the ESG revolution in business and finance which has since grown to be a staple FT product. In 2020, Moral Money won the SABEW best newsletter.

Previously, Tett was the FT’s US managing editor from 2013 to 2019. She has also served as assistant editor for the FT’s markets coverage, capital markets editor, deputy editor of the Lex column, Tokyo bureau  chief, Tokyo correspondent, London-based economics reporter and a reporter in Russia and Brussels.

Tett is the author of The Silo Effect, which looks at the global economy and financial system through the lens of cultural  anthropology. She also authored Fool’s Gold: How Unrestrained Greed  Corrupted a Dream, Shattered Global Markets and Unleashed a Catastrophe, a 2009 New York Times bestseller and Financial Book of the Year at the inaugural Spear’s Book Awards. Additionally, she wrote the 2003 book Saving the Sun: A  Wall Street Gamble to Rescue Japan from its Trillion Dollar Meltdown. Her next book, Anthro-Vision, A New Way to See Life and Business will come out in June 2021.

Tett has received honorary degrees from the University of Exeter, the University of Miami, St Andrew’s, London University (Goldsmiths), Carnegie Mellon, Baruch and an honorary doctorate from Lancaster University in the UK.

In 2014, Tett won the Royal Anthropological Institute Marsh Award and was named Columnist of the Year at the British Press Awards. Her 2012 article “Madoff spins his story” won the SABEW Award for best feature article. Other awards include a President’s Medal by the British  Academy (2011), being recognized as Journalist of the Year (2009) and Business  Journalist of the Year (2008) by the British Press Awards, and as Senior Financial  Journalist of the Year (2007) by the Wincott Awards. In 2017, Tett won the commentator of the year from Editorial Intelligence.

Before joining the Financial Times in 1993, Tett was awarded a PhD in social  anthropology from Cambridge University based on field work in the former Soviet  Union. While pursuing the PhD, she freelanced for the FT and the BBC. She is a graduate  of Cambridge University.

Event information
Date
Thu Mar 25, 2021
5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Location
Digital Discussion