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Letter to Congress: Economists Across the Spectrum Endorse Stimulus Package
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Letter to Congress: Economists Across the Spectrum Endorse Stimulus Package

Economists from across the political spectrum have endorsed the stimulus package in this letter to Congress.

We the undersigned encourage Congress to pass quickly the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and stem the tide of rising joblessness.

The United States is in a recession that threatens to be deep and protracted. Each month, employers are shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs. To stop the hemorrhaging of jobs and pull the economy back from the edge, policymakers must act quickly and decisively. A critical needed action is significant fiscal stimulus specifically designed to boost employment and economic growth.

To this end, Congress and the new administration have put together an economic recovery plan of unprecedented scope and size. The $825 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is of the scale and breadth necessary to begin tackling the mounting problems faced by our economy. The plan proposes important investments that can start to overcome the nation’s damaging loss of jobs by saving or creating millions of jobs and put the United States back onto a sustainable long-term growth path.

We do not have the luxury of a lengthy debate over the best course of action. This legislation may not be enough to solve all the economy’s problems, but it is urgently needed and an important step in the right direction.

Signatories

Kenneth J. Arrow
Recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize for Economics
Stanford University
Palo Alto, California

Lawrence R. Klein
Recipient of the 1980 Nobel Prize for Economics
Benjamin Franklin Professor Emeritus of Economics
University of Pennsylvania

Eric Maskin
Recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Economics
Institute for Advanced Studies
Princeton, New Jersey

Daniel McFadden
Recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Economics and 1975 John Bates Clark Award
University of California
Berkeley, California

Paul Samuelson
Recipient of the 1970 Nobel Prize for Economics
and 1947 John Bates Clark Award

Robert Solow
Recipient of the 1987 Nobel Prize for Economics
and 1961 John Bates Clark Award
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor of Economics, Emeritus

Franklin M. Fisher
Recipient of the 1973 John Bates Clark Award
Jane Berkowitz Carlton and Dennis William Carlton Professor of Microeconomics, Emeritus
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge , Massachusetts

Laura Tyson
Chair of The Council of Economic Advisors, 1993 – 1995
President’s National Economic Advisor, 1995 – 1996
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley , California

Robert Reich
Former Secretary of Labor
Professor of Public Policy
University of California, Berkeley.
Berkeley, California

Sarah Rosen Wartell
Executive Vice President
Center for American Progress Action Fund
Washington , District of Columbia

Dean Baker
Co-Director
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Washington , District of Columbia

Randy Albelda
Professor of Economics
University of Massachusetts Boston
Boston, Massachusetts

Anne Alexander
Former AAAS Policy Fellow (Economic Policy Staff, Africa Bureau, Department of State)
And Director of International Programs
University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming

Marcus Alexis
Professor Emeritus of Management & Strategy, and Economics
Kellogg School of Management
Evanston , Illinois

Sylvia A. Allegretto
Economist
Institute for Research on Labor & Employment
University of California, Berkeley

Bernard E. Anderson
The Wharton School of Business
University of Pennsylvania
University City, Pennsylvania

Marcellus Andrews
Visiting Professor
Department of Economics
Barnard College of Columbia University

Rania Antonopoulos
Projects coordinator of the Gender Equality and the Economy Program
Levy Institute of Bard College
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

Eileen Appelbaum
Professor, School of Management and Labor Relations
Center for Women and Work, Rutgers University
New Brunswick , New Jersey

Patricia A. Atkinson
Adjunct Lecturer
Department of Economics
Portland State University
Portland, Oregon

Marshall Auerback
Fellow
Economists for Peace and Security at the Levi Institute
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

Herm Baine
Professor of Economics
Broward College
Davie, Florida

Sandeep Baliga
Associate Professor
Kellogg School of Management
Evanston, Illinois

Erol Balkan
Professor of Economics
Hamilton College
Clinton, New York

Jennifer Ball
Associate Professor of Economics
Washburn University School of Business
Topeka, Kansas

Nina Banks
Associate Professor of Economics
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Edward B Barbier
John S Bugas Professor of Economics
Department of Economics and Finance
University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming

Francis M. Bator
Littauer Professor of Political Economy, Emeritus
Harvard Kennedy School of Government 
Cambridge, Massachusetts

William J. Baumol
Academic Director
Berkley Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at NYU
New York, New York

Jeffrey D. Baxter
Economist and Sr. Project Director
Info Tech, Inc.
Gainesville, Florida

Andrea H. Beller
Professor, Agricultural and Consumer Economics
Affiliate, Institute of Government and Public Affairs
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, Illinois

Peter Berck
S. J. Hall Professor of Forest Economics Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California

Gunseli Berik
Associate Professor of Economics
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Amherst, Massachusetts

Michael A. Bernstein
Professor of History and Economics
Tulane University
New Orleans, Louisiana

Josh Bivens
Economist
Economic Policy Institute
Washington, District of Columbia

Rebecca M. Blank
Robert V. Kerr Senior Fellow
Brookings Institution
Washington, District of Columbia

Gail Blattenberger
Associate Professor
Department of Economics
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah

Barry Bluestone
Dean, School of Social Science, Urban Affairs, and Public Policy Director
Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy
Russell B. and Andree B. Stearns Trustee Professor Political Economy
Northeastern University
Boston, Massachusetts

Howard Botwinick
Associate Professor of Economics
SUNY Cortland
Cortland, New York

Clair Brown
Professor of Economics Director
Center for Work, Technology, and Society
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California

Scott J. Brown
Chief Economist
Raymond James & Associates
St. Petersburg, Florida

Patricia Byrnes
Professor
Department of Economics
University of Illinois at Springfield
Springfield, Illinois

Guillermo Calvo
Professor of International and Public Affairs
Columbia University
New York, New York

Martha Campbell
Associate Professor of Economics
SUNY College at Potsdam
Potsdam, New York

Kellin Chandler
Stanfield Asst Professor of Economics
DePauw University
Greencastle, Indiana

Jeff Chapman
Research Director
Washington State Budget & Policy Center
Seattle, Washington

Steve Cohn
Professor of Economics
Knox College
Galesburg, Illinois

Eileen L. Collins
Fellow
Rutgers Center for Women & Work
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

James Crotty
Professor Of Economics, emeritus
University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts

Jane D’Arista
Director of Programs
The Financial Markets Center
Philomont, Virginia

Anita Dancs
Asst. Professor of Economics
Western New England College
Springfield, Massachusetts

Paul Davidson
Editor, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics
Bernard Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis
The New School
New York, New York

Gregory DeFreitas
Professor of Economics
Hofstra University
Hempstead, New York

Brad DeLong
Professor of Economics
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California

James Devine
Professor of Economics
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, California

Amy McCormick Diduch
Associate Professor of Economics
Mary Baldwin College
Staunton, Virginia

Ranjit S. Dighe
Associate Professor
Department of Economics
SUNY College at Oswego
Oswego, New York

Elias Dinopoulos
Professor of Economics
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

Laura Dresser
Associate Director
Center on Wisconsin Strategy
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin

Robert Drago
Professor of Labor Studies
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania

Arindrajit Dube
Research Economist, Labor Center
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California

Amitava Krishna Dutt
Professor
Department of Economics and Policy Studies
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana

Gary Dymski
Professor of Economics
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, California

Catherine S. Elliott
Professor of Economics
New College of Florida
Sarasota, Florida

Gerald Epstein
Professor of Economics
and Co-Director, Political Economy Research Institute (PERI)
University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts

Hadi Salehi Esfahani
Editor-in-Chief
Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance,
Professor of Economics,
University of Illinois
Urbana, Illinois

Susan Feiner
Professor of Economics
Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies
University of Southern Maine
Portland, Maine

Marianne A, Ferber
Professor Emerita of Economics
and Women’s Studies
University of Illinois, U-C
Urbana Illinois

Rudy Fichtenbaum
Professor of Economics
Wright State University
Dayton, Ohio

Alexander J. Field
Professor of Economics
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, California

Deborah M. Figart
Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Economics
The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
Pomona, New Jersey

Nancy Folbre
Professor of Economics
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts

Ellen Frank
Visiting Associate Professor of Economics
University of Massachusetts-Boston
Boston, Massachusetts

Gerald Friedman
Professor of Economics
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts

James K. Galbraith
Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr.
Chair in Government/Business Relations
LBJ School of Public Affairs
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas

Chris Georges
Professor of Economics
Hamilton College
Clinton, New York

Teresa Ghilarducci
Director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis
New School for Social Research
New York, New York

Lonnie Golden
Professor of Economics and Labor
Studies
Penn State University
Abington, Pennsylvania

Eban Goodstein
Professor of Economics
Lewis & Clark College
Portland , Oregon

Ulla Grapard
Associate Professor of Economics and Women’s Studies
Colgate University
Hamilton, NY

Jo Marie Griesgraber
Executive Director
New Rules for Global Finance Coalition
Washington, District of Columbia

Stephany Griffith-Jones
Executive Director
Initiative for Policy Dialogue
Columbia University
New York, New York

Srabana Gupta
Associate Professor of Economics
St. Thomas University
Miami, Florida

Robert Guttmann
Professor of Economics and Department Chair
Department of Economics
Hofstra University
Hempstead, New York

Wbena Gyimah-Brempong
Professor and Chairperson
Department of Economics
University of South Florida
Tampa, Florida

Heidi Hartmann
President
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
Washington , District of Columbia

Carol E. Heim
Professor of Economics
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Amherst , Massachusetts

Diane Hite
Professor
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama

Emily P. Hoffman
Professor of Economics
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Harry Holzer
Professor of Public Policy
Georgetown Public Policy Institute (GPPI)
Washington, District of Columbia

Julio Huato
Associate Professor of Economics
St.Francis College
Brooklyn Heights , New York

Michael D. Intriligator
Professor of Economics, Political Science, and Public Policy
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Barbara A.P. Jones
Professor of Economics
Alabama A&M University
Normal, Alabama

Lawrence Katz
Elisabeth Allison Professor of Economics
Harvard University
Cambridge , Massachusetts

Mary King
Professor
Economics Department
Portland State University
Portland, Oregon

Lori Kletzer
Professor of Economics
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California

Jane Knodell
Associate Professor of Economics
University of Vermont
Burlington, Vermont

Thomas Kochan
Co-director, Institute for Work and Employment Research
MIT Sloan School of Management
Cambridge , Massachusetts

Douglas Kruse
School of Management and Labor Relations
Rutgers University
Piscataway, New Jersey

Richard C. Leone
President
The Century Foundation
Washington, District of Columbia

David I. Levine
Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor
Haas School of Business
University of California
Berkeley, California

Margaret Levenstein
Adjunct Associate Professor
Ross School of Business
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Robert Lynch
Professor of Economics
Washington College
Chestertown, Maryland

Sid Mittra
Emeritus Professor of Finance
Oakland University
Rochester, Michigan

Tracy Mott
Associate Professor
Dept. of Economics
University of Denver
Denver, Colorado

Carlos F. Liard-Muriente
Associate Professor
Department of Economics
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, Connecticut

Victor D. Lippit
Professor of Economics
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, California

Catherine Lynde
Associate Professor
Economics Department
University of Massachusetts Boston
Boston, Massachusetts

Arthur MacEwan
Professor Emeritus, Department of Economics
Senior Fellow, Center for Social Policy
University of Massachusetts Boston
Boston, Massachusetts

Richard MacMinn
Edmondson-Miller Chair
College of Business
Illinois State University

Diane J. Macunovich
Professor of Economics
University of Redlands
Redlands. California

Julianne Malveaux
President
Bennett College for Women
Greensboro , North Carolina

Ioana Marinescu
Assistant Professor of Economics
Harris School of Public Policy
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Patrick Mason
Professor of Economics
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida

Thomas Masterson
Research Scholar
Distribution of Income and Wealth Project
Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

Roberto Mazzoleni
Associate Professor of Economics
Hofstra University
Hempstead, New York

Peter Hans Matthews
Professor
Department of Economics
Middlebury College
Middlebury, Vermont

Ann Mari May
Associate Professor of Economics
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska

Hannah McKinney
Professor of Economics and Business
Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Alter W. McMahon                                                                   
Professor of Economics (Emeritus)                                                                           
University of Illinois
Champaign, Illinois

David Meltzer
Associate Professor
Department of Medicine, Department of Economics and Graduate School of Public Policy
The University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Peter B. Meyer
Professor Emeritus of Urban Policy and Economics
Director Emeritus, Center for Environmental Policy and Management
University of Louisville
Covington, KY

Edward Montgomery
Dean
College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland

Monique Morrissey
Economist
Economic Policy Institute
Washington, DC

Fred Moseley
Professor of Economics
Mount Holyoke College
South Hadley, Massachusetts

Jamee K. Moudud
Economics Faculty and
Chair, Social Science Group
Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, New York

Adil Mouhammed
Associate Professor of Economics
University of Illinois at Springfield
Springfield, Illinois

Richard J. Murnane
Thompson Professor
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Laurie Nisonoff
Professor of Economics
Hampshire College
Amherst, Massachusetts

Michael Nuwer
Professor of Economics
SUNY Potsdam
Potsdam, New York

Erik Olsen
Assistant Professor
Department of Economics
University of Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri

Dimitri Papadimitriou
President
The Levy Economics Institute
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

Richard Parker

Lecturer in Public Policy
Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts

James Parrott
Deputy Director and Chief Economist
Fiscal Policy Institute
New York, New York

Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, California

Paul Pieper
Associate Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Bruce Pietrykowski
Professor of Economics
University of Michigan-Dearborn
Dearborn, Michigan

Robert Pollin
Professor of Economics
and Co-Director, Political Economy Research Institute (PERI)
University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts

Robert E. Prasch
Associate Professor of Economics
Middlebury College
Middlebury, Vermont

Mark A. Price
Labor Economist
Keystone Research Center
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Steven Raphael
Professor
Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley
Berkeley, California

James B. Rebitzer
Mannix Professor and Department Chair,
Department of Economics
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio

Scott A. Redenius
Senior Lecturer
Brandeis University
Waltham, Massachusetts

Michael Reich
Professor of Economics and Director
Institute for Research on Labor and Employment
University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, California

Andrew Reschovsky
Professor of Public Affairs and Applied Economics
Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin

Charles F. Revier
Associate Professor
Department of Economics
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado

Stephen E. Reynolds
Professor of Economics
Associate Director (International)
Institute of Public and International Affairs (IPIA)
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah

Bruce B. Roberts
Professor of Economics
University of Southern Maine
Portland Maine

Malcolm B. Robinson
Professor of Economics
Thomas More College
Crestview Hills, Kentucky

William M. Rodgers
Professor and Chief Economist
Heldrich Center for Workforce Development
Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey

John E. Roemer
Elizabeth S. and A. Varick Stout Professor of Political Science and Economics
Dept  of Political Science
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut

Samuel Rosenberg
Professor of Economics and Director of the Honors Program
Department of Economics
Roosevelt University
Chicago, Illinois

Kathleen Greer Rossmann
Associate Professor of Economics
Birmingham-Southern College
Birmingham, Alabama

Lauren Rudd
President
Savannah Capital Management
Publisher of The Rudd Report – Investment News and Research
Sarasota, Florida

Héctor Sáez
Research Economist
Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources
Washington State University
Mount Vernon, Washington

Karl Schmedders
Associate Professor of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences
Kellogg School of Management
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

John Schmitt
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Washington, DC

John Karl Scholtz
Professor of Economics
University of Wisconsin — Madison
Madison, Wisconsin

T. Paul Schultz
Professor Emeritus Economics Department
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut

Michael C. Seeborg
Eckley Professor of Economics
Illinois Wesleyan University
Bloomington, Illinois

Stephanie Seguino
Professor of Economics
University of Vermont
Burlington, Vermont

Mark Setterfield
Professor of Economics
Trinity College
Hartford, Connecticut

Brad W. Setser
Fellow for Geoeconomics
Council on Foreign Relations
New York, New York

Jean Shackelford
Professor of Economics
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Sherrill Shaffer
Guthrie Distinguished Professor of Banking and Financial Services
University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming

Sumitra Shah
Associate Professor of Economics
St. John’s University
New York City

Heidi Shierholz
Economist
Economic Policy Institute
Washington, DC

Perry Singleton
Assistant Professor
Department of Economics
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York

Peter Skott
Professor
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts

Timothy M. Smeeding
Director
Institute for Research on Poverty
and A & S Distinguished Professor of Public Affairs and Economics
Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs
Madison, Wisconsin

Bryan Snyder
Lecturer in Economics
Bentley University
Waltham, Massachusetts

Todd Sorensen
Assistant Professor
Department of Economics
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, California

William E. Spriggs
Professor and Chair, Department of Economics
Howard University
Washington, District of Columbia

James B. Stewart
Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations and Management and Organization
Penn State University
University Park, Pennsylvania

Diana Strassmann
Editor, Feminist Economics
Director, Program on Poverty, Social Justice, and Human Capabilities
Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Rice University
Houston, Texas

Mark Stater
Assistant Professor of Economics
Trinity College
Hartford, Connecticut

Mary Huff Stevenson
Professor of Economics
University of Massachusetts Boston
Boston, Massachusetts

Frank Stricker
Professor of History and Labor Studies
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Carson, California

Linwood F. Tauheed
Assistant Professor of Economics
University of Missouri-Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri

Mark Thoma
Associate Professor of Economics
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon

Alexander M. Thompson III
Professor of Economics
Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, New York

Chris Tilly
Director, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment and Professor of Urban Planning
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

Eric Tymoigne
Assistant Professor of Economics
California State University, Fresno
Fresno, California

Mukti Upadhyay
Professor, Dept of Economics
Eastern Illinois University
Charleston, Illinois

Leanne Ussher
Assistant Professor, Economics,
Queens College, City University of New York
Flushing, New York

Paula B. Voos
Director of Credit Programs and Professor
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey

Jane Waldfogel
Professor of Social Work and Public Affairs
Columbia University School of Social Work
New York, New York

William Waller
Professor of Economics
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Geneva, New York

Immanuel Wallerstein
Senior Research Scholar
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut

David F. Weiman
Alena Wels Hirschorn ’58 Professor of Economics
Department of Economics
Barnard College
Columbia University
New York, New York

Mark Weisbrot
Co-Director
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Washington, District of Columbia

Thomas Weisskopf
Professor of Economics
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Christian Weller
Senior Fellow
Center for American Progress Action Fund
Washington , District of Columbia

Edward Wolff
Professor of Economics
Department of Economics
New York University
New York, New York

Marty Wolfson
Director of the Higgins Labor Studies Program
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana

Richard H. Wood, Jr.
Professor of Economics,
Stetson University
DeLand, Florida

L. Randall Wray
Professor of Economics
University of Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri

Yavuz Yasar
Assistant Professor
Department of Economics
University of Denver
Denver, Colorado

Linda Wilcox Young
Professor of Economics
Southern Oregon University
Ashland, Oregon

Mark Zandi
Chief Economist and Co- Founder
Moody’s Economy.com

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