In this episode, Levy Research Scholar Aashima Sinha sits down with University of Massachusetts Amherst Professor Emerita and Levy Senior Scholar Nancy Folbre to discuss how feminist economics is reshaping our understanding of well-being, care, and inequality—from new measures that value household production to the challenges of integrating gender and care work into macroeconomics. They discuss fiscal and political barriers to gender-equitable policy, major data gaps (and efforts to fix them), and how patriarchy and capitalism reinforce each other across global contexts.

Further reading:

• Integrating Nonmarket Consumption into the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, by A. Zacharias, F. Rios-Avila, N. Folbre, and T. Masterson
• The Care Board, University of Kansas
• A Data Infrastructure for Measuring the Care Economy, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine
• "Unmasking Hidden Poverty in America: The Role of Time Deficits," by A. Zacharias, F. Rios-Avila, T. Masterson, and A. Sinha
• "Measuring Care: Gender, Empowerment, and the Care Economy," by N. Folbre

Applications for the Levy Institute Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy are open. For more information and to start your application, please visit: https://www.bard.edu/levygrad/. The early decision deadline to apply is January 15, 2026. The regular decision deadline is April 15, 2026.

*International Student should apply by March 15th to allow time for securing a visa.*

All applicants are eligible for financial aid. Financial aid is awarded based on each individual's merits and accomplishments both inside and outside the classroom.