The Pursuit of Prosperity and Equity in America Today

The biblical practice of shemita (sabbatical year) includes mandates to cancel outstanding debts between borrowers and lenders, and to relinquish personal ownership of land and its crop. How should we think about these mandates in the context of contemporary economics, wealth distribution, and philanthropy? Conversely, how might we assess the state of our global economy, and the world’s growing wealth gap in light of these mandates? 

Join B’nai Jeshurun and Harvard Hillel for three unique events that bring leading thinkers into conversation with the ancient ideas of shemita and their potential application to our world today. Income and wealth inequality have grown rapidly in the United States in recent decades, with the potential to tear at the strength of our economy, social fabric and even our democracy. What tools from traditional models of capitalism might address such inequities, and what can new approaches to economic development and civic engagement offer? Join Dayna Cunningham, dean of the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University and N. Gregory Mankiw, Harvard economist and former chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, in a conversation moderated by Lavea Brachman, visiting fellow at Brookings Metro, a research program of the Brookings Institute.

Dayna L. Cunningham is Dean of the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. Previously, she was the founder of the Community Innovators Lab at MIT where she built large-scale, multi-sector development collaborations that combined sustainability, wellness, and democratic control of economies in marginalized communities.

N. Gregory Mankiw is the Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard University. A prolific writer, his research includes work on price adjustment, consumer behavior, financial markets, monetary and fiscal policy, and economic growth. He served as the Chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers under President George w. Bush.

This event is the third in a series of three. You can learn more about the first event here and second event here.