Julie A. Nelson

This article is about the feminist economist. For the television anchor, see Julie Nelson (TV anchor).
Julie A. Nelson
Born 1956
Nationality United States
Fields Economics
Institutions Bureau of Labor Statistics, University of California, Davis, University of Massachusetts Boston, Global Development and Environment Institute
Known for Application of feminist theory to questions of the definition of the discipline of economics

Julie A. Nelson (born 1956) is an American feminist economist and Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Boston, most known for her application of feminist theory to questions of the definition of the discipline of economics, and its models and methodology. Nelson received her Ph.D. degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[1] Her work focuses on gender and economics, philosophy and methodology of economics, ecological economics, and quantitative methods. Nelson is among the founders and the most highly cited scholars in the field of feminist economics.

Beyond Economic Man: Feminist Theory and Economics, a 1993 book Nelson co-edited with Marianne A. Ferber, has been called a 'landmark' [2] and the 'manifesto' of feminist economics.[3] A follow-up volume, Feminist Economics Today, summarizes the development of the field over the following ten years [4] Nelson is author or co-author of four additional books and numerous academic articles on both feminist theory and the empirical study of household behavior. Her 2006 book Economics for Humans dismisses the view that markets are inexorable "machines" and discusses how a better understanding of the relation of economics and values could improve both business and care work.[5] She argues that the current economic language that refers to the economic "machine" is inherently masculine, focussing on 'detachment, mathematical reasoning, formality and abstration',[6] and suggests that updated language that refers to the economy as, for example, a "beating heart" would better frame discussions about the economy in terms of values.[7] Her most recent work addresses issues of ethics and economics, particularly in relation to climate change.

Nelson was a founding member of the International Association for Feminist Economics and is an Associate Editor of the journal Feminist Economics. Nelson started her career at the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, subsequently became a tenured Associate Professor at the University of California, Davis, and then moved to the Boston, Massachusetts area where she is currently Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Boston and a Senior Research Fellow with the Global Development and Environment Institute. 20 years after the publication of Beyond Economic Man, she wrote the foreword to the anthology Counting on Marilyn Waring: New Advances in Feminist Economics.[8]

Selected bibliography

Books

Reviewed by Robeyns, Ingrid (2005). "Feminist economics today, edited by Marianne A. Ferber and Julie A. Nelson". Journal of Economic Methodology (Taylor and Francis) 12 (4): 613–617. doi:10.1080/13501780500365592.

Journal articles

References

  1. Interview: Julie Nelson: What is Feminist Economics All About, Challenge: The Magazine of Economic Affairs, January–February 1996, pp. 4-8
  2. Coughlin, Ellen K. 1993. Feminist Economists vs. ‘Economic Man’: Questioning a Field’s Bedrock Concepts, The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 30, A8.
  3. Steinberger, Michael. 1998. The Second Sex and the Dismal Science: The Rise of Feminist Economics, Lingua Franca, November, p. 57.
  4. Jacobsen, Joyce P. Review of Feminist Economics Today. Journal of Economic Literature, XLIII, March 2005, pp. 138-140.
  5. Allemang, John. Review of Economics for Humans, The Globe and Mail, October 9, 2006.
  6. Economyths, by David Orrell, page 140
  7. Nelson, Julie. "Economic Jargon," podcast interview for Economica: Women and the Global Economy, October 2009.
  8. Bjørnholt, Margunn; McKay, Ailsa, eds. (2014). Counting on Marilyn Waring: New Advances in Feminist Economics. Demeter Press/Brunswick Books. ISBN 9781927335277.

External links