Author: Julie A. Nelson / Topic: Gender Issues

Author:: Julie A. Nelson
Publication Date:: 10-2011
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:: Would having more women in leadership have prevented the financial crisis? This question challenges feminist economists to once again address questions of "difference" versus "sameness" that have engaged—and often divided—academic feminists for decades. The first part of this essay argues that while some behavioral research seems to support an exaggerated "difference" view, non-simplistic behavioral research can serve feminist libratory purposes by debunking this view and revealing the immense unconscious power of stereotyping, as well as the possibility of non-dualist understandings of gender. The second part of this essay argues that the more urgently needed gender analysis of the financial industry is not concerned with (presumed) "differences" by sex, but rather with the role of gender biases in the social construction of markets. An Appendix discusses specific examples and tools that can be used when teaching about difference and similarity.
Topic:: Economics, Gender Issues, Politics, Political Theory, Financial Crisis, and Governance

Author:: Julie A. Nelson
Publication Date:: 05-2010
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:: This much-cited adage from 9th century Zen master Lin-Chi is a key Buddhist warning about nonattachment. Like so many Zen sayings and koans, it can surprise and unsettle us. It reminds us that even our highest ideals, goals, and aspirations are not something we can cling to. If we think we've finally "got it," that is a sure sign that we do not, and it's back to the meditation cushion for us.
Topic:: Economics, Gender Issues, and Religion

Author:: Julie A. Nelson
Publication Date:: 05-2010
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:: It is common to think of care ethics and justice ethics as being opposed to each other, and also to think of economic life as being opposed to social life. As a result, it may be hard to see how care ethics, seen as interpersonal, could be applicable to business, when the latter is perceived as asocial. This essay uncovers the origins of these beliefs in unhelpful dualistic cognitive habits and in gender-biases in the development of the discipline of economics. In particular, feminist analysis reveals the mythical nature of both "economic man" and the belief in mechanical "profit maximization." The essay calls for unveiling and recognizing the ethical and connected dimensions that already characterize business life, and including these in thinking about how to create a more humane economy.
Topic:: Economics, Gender Issues, and Human Rights

Author:: Julie A. Nelson
Publication Date:: 06-2009
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:: The field of ecological economics includes both economic analysis on the one hand, and discussions of values and visions for society, on the other. Using feminist insights into cultural beliefs about the relative "hardness" and "softness" of these two sides, this essay discusses how ecological economists can use this unique "between" space in order to better inform policy. The current crisis of global climate change, it is argued, requires that economists move beyond modeling and measurement, while ecological thinkers need to re-examine beliefs about markets and profit.
Topic:: Climate Change, Economics, Environment, and Gender Issues
Political Geography:: United States

Author:: Julie A. Nelson
Publication Date:: 08-2008
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:: This essay explores the profoundly gendered nature of the split between the disciplines of economics and sociology which took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, emphasizing implications for the relatively new field of economic sociology. Drawing on historical documents and feminist studies of science, it investigates the gendered processes underlying the divergence of the disciplines in definition, method, and degree of engagement with social problems. Economic sociology has the potential to heal this disciplinary split, but only if the field is broadened, deepened, and made wiser and more self-reflective through the use of feminist analysis.
Topic:: Economics, Gender Issues, Political Economy, Political Theory, and Sociology

Author:: Julie A. Nelson
Publication Date:: 08-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:: Feminist scholars examine not only the gendered impacts of development programs whose design has been influenced by disciplines such as economics, but also the gendered biases that permeate the models and methods of the disciplines themselves. This essay draws on aspects of feminist critiques of economics, philosophy, psychology, law, and finance to analyze the way in which international debt is discussed. Feminist critiques raise serious questions about the rational choice framework that often undergirds scholarly discussions of “agents,” “contract,” “ethics,” and “capital and debt.”
Topic:: Economics, Gender Issues, and International Trade and Finance

Refine your search