Project

Commission on Reimagining Our Economy

Democracy & Justice
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This crosspartisan, interdisciplinary Commission seeks to advance an economy that puts people first. Guided by the values of security, opportunity and mobility, and democracy, it will offer bold recommendations to make the economy work for the people who make it work. 

Overview

Economic uncertainty is a disruptive force in American life. Too many families are unable to achieve the life they want despite their best efforts, too many communities have not benefited fully from national economic growth, and too many Americans believe the economy does not work for them. 

New photojournal issued - Faces of America: Getting By in Our Economy

The Academy launched the Commission on Reimagining Our Economy (CORE) in October 2021 to rethink the principles, metrics, narratives, and policies that shape the nation’s political economy. While policymakers and journalists often track how the economy is doing, the Commission seeks to direct a focus onto how Americans are doing, elevating the human stakes of our economic and political systems.

The interdisciplinary and crosspartisan Commission comprises scholars, journalists, artists, and leaders from the faith, labor, business, and philanthropic communities. With this diverse makeup the Commission seeks to consider the well-being of Americans more broadly than is customary in economic discussions. In addition to a report with recommendations, the Commission will release a metric dashboard offer county-level measurements of well-being that account for factors such as political voice that are typically excluded from standard economic indicators. 

The CORE project will build on Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century. That report acknowledges that economic conditions influence public faith in government, political participation, and civic engagement. While Our Common Purpose does not offer recommendations specifically targeted at the intersection of the economy and democracy, the Commission on Reimagining Our Economy will face these issues head on.

Through listening sessions, data collection, and a commitment to crosspartisan work, the Commission will develop bold, achievable recommendations that advance practices and policies to enable opportunity, mobility, and sufficiency for all.

People

People

Commission Chairs
Commission Members

K. Daron Acemoglu

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics
Academy Member

Elizabeth S. Anderson

University of Michigan
John Rawls Collegiate Professor of Philosophy and Women's Studies, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor
Academy Member

Helene D. Gayle

Spelman College
President and Chief Executive Officer
Academy Member

Jacob S. Hacker

Yale University
Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science
Academy Member

Tom Hanks

Santa Monica, CA
Actor, Director, Screenwriter, and Producer
Academy Member

Mary Kay Henry

Service Employees International Union
President
Academy Member

Kelly Lytle Hernández

University of California, Los Angeles
Professor and Thomas E. Lifka Chair of History
Academy Member

Goodwin Liu

Supreme Court of California
Associate Justice
Academy Member

James M. Manyika

Google-Alphabet
Chairman, McKinsey Global Institute; Senior Partner
Academy Member

Katherine S. Newman

University of California System
Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and International Relations
Academy Member

Viet Thanh Nguyen

University of Southern California
Aerol Arnold Chair of English and Professor of English and American Studies and Ethnicity
Academy Member

Ruth Simmons

Harvard University
President Emerita
Academy Member

Matthew J. Slaughter

Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
The Paul Danos Dean of the Tuck School of Business
Academy Member

Anna Deavere Smith

Independent
Actress; Playwright; Author; University Professor of Arts and Civic Dialogue
Academy Member
Staff

Jonathan D. Cohen

Joan and Irwin Jacobs Senior Program Officer for American Institutions, Society, and the Public Good

Victor Lopez

Program Associate for American Institutions, Society, and the Public Good
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Publications

Publications

News & Updates

News & Updates

Woman Standing at Table
Press Release
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Photojournal Features the Faces of the American Economy

A new photojournal produced by the Academy's Commission on Reimagining Our Economy is part of their work to put the American people and their well-being at the center of discussions about the nation's economy.
Representatives Himes and Steil in Conversation at the Academy
Bulletin
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Reimagining the American Economy

The Academy's Commission on Reimagining Our Economy (CORE) is rethinking the values, policies, narratives, and metrics that shape the nation’s political economy. Rather than focus on how the economy is doing, the Commission seeks to direct a focus onto how Americans are doing. As part of this work, the Academy hosted a conversation with U.S. Representative Jim Himes, Chair of the House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth and U.S. Representative Bryan Steil, the Ranking Member of the Committee.
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Academy Article
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Bipartisan Conversation on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth

Congressman Jim Himes (D-CT) and Congressman Bryan Steil (R-WI) were the featured speakers when the Academy hosted a bipartisan conversation about the economy and the future of democracy. They are the  chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the U.S. House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth. The event - now available for viewing - was an opportunity to hear how members of Congress think about economic issues—from trade wars and globalization to inflation and its impact on the day-to-day lives of their constituents.
Bulletin
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The Commission on Reimagining Our Economy

Economic uncertainty is a disruptive force in American life. Too many families are unable to achieve the life they want despite their best efforts, too many communities have not benefited fully from national economic growth, and too many Americans believe the economy does not work for people like them. In a 2021 Pew Research Center survey, 66 percent of Americans felt that the nation’s economy needs major reforms, while just 6 percent felt it should remain unchanged. Coupled with the current challenges facing American democracy, these trends contribute to the growing distrust of political and economic institutions. While it often seems that the nation cannot agree on much, there is widespread agreement that changes are needed to bolster opportunity and to allow more Americans to share in the nation’s prosperity.
Press Release
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Reimagining Our Economy: A New Commission

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences has launched the Commission on Reimagining Our Economy, an interdisciplinary and nonpartisan multiyear effort to rethink the principles that drive economic decision making and to recommend policies that enable opportunity for all.
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Events

Events

Project Information

The Commission on Reimagining Our Economy is supported by a $1 million grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and additional funding provided by David M. Rubenstein, Omidyar Network, Patti Saris, and the C&P Buttenwieser Foundation.

 

Project Date
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Contact Information
Jonathan D. Cohen
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