The title of this site kind of speaks for itself, but a bit of personal history will help explain where I am headed.
I’ve always liked short-form writing. Back in 2009 I started a blog called Care Talk that led to an invitation to post weekly on the New York Times Economix blog, which I continued until 2014. After that project was discontinued, I returned to Care Talk which eventually found a new home at Revaluing Care in the Global Economy. I also post regularly to Left Hook and have done several interviews with C.J. Polychroniou published on Truthout, Common Dreams, and ZNetwork.
Now I’m moving toward something more theoretical and, at the same time, more informal: Brainstormy Big Thinks with some Little Thinks along the way; aimed primarily at fellow travelers in academia, but hopefully of interest to others as well. I’ll be exploring many concerns, some linked to specific policy issues; sometimes reviewing or commenting on other people’s publications, sometimes summarizing my own. My approximately once-a-week posts will often be short, sometimes long, always hoping to spark good exchanges, long-run conversations.
So many reasons for this: The traditional publication timeline is painfully slow—long waits for reviews in academic journals, typically requiring rounds of revision and even longer delays for books. I’ve just celebrated my 75th birthday and am therefore in a hurry. Also, my personal circumstances include substantial care responsibilities that limit my ability to travel to conferences or otherwise exchange ideas in person.
I’m sure my chronicles will evolve over time, but all topics will connect one way or another to feminist political economy and/or the economics of care provision, with interdisciplinary twists. I’m increasingly interested in synergies between “intersectionality” and stratification economics, which help explain the current backlash against feminism and the very concept of gender. I’m very interested in time use, intra-family bargaining, and care penalties, which economics refer to as part of the “micro” picture, but I’ll also engage with the “macro,” including national income accounting and growth models. I have strong opinions about public policies in the areas of health, education, and social welfare, and am a contributor to the Game Changers Policy Project.
In addition to commenting on current events, I have an underlying story to tell about the economics of care provision. I will start by indulging an inner voice. Chicken Little Cassandra Girl Cries Wolf sets the stage for thinking about apocalypse now, also known as the “crisis of care.” Social Democracy, Meet Democratic Socialism explains why care provision is so relevant to the current political moment.
Part I will follow: a series of posts unpacking the way that economists (and others) think (and fail to think) about “public goods” which, I’ll argue, overlap with the concept of the “commons.” Part II will explain why care provision should be understood as a crucial component of the commons, which helps explain its undervaluation. Part III will take on some specific economic issues, ranging from the cost of living, trends in inequality, measurements of productivity, and time poverty.
For a taste of what’s to come, you can take a look at the Short Takes on my website. Meanwhile, here are five direct links to representative examples:
We Can’t Combat Inequality Without First Valuing Care Work. An Interview with Nancy Folbre by C.J. Polychroniou
January 2, 2026 (Truthout)
A feminist political economy addresses gender inequalities but also seeks to rectify other inequalities in the division of labor and earnings.
The U.S. Care Affordability Crisis
January 21, 2026 (Left Hook)
The price of purchased care services is rising much faster in the United States than the overall rate of inflation, intensifying the affordability crisis for those paying for the care of others as well as themselves.
What, Exactly, Is a Fair Wage?
April 17, 2026 (The American Prospect)
Arindrajit Dube brilliantly dissects how wages really are set—but overlooks the particular hurdles that paid care workers face.
May 15, 2026 (Left Hook, ZNetwork, and Care Talk)
We’ve built an economy that depends on unpaid and underpaid care but penalizes the people who provide it.
Backing for UBI Is Growing. Let’s Push for the Most Progressive Version of It.
July 19, 2026 (ZNetwork, Truthout)
