Oral history interview with Betsey Stevenson, 2022
Abstract
Betsey Stevenson discusses her contribution to the economic policy of the Obama administration, in which she served as chief economist at the United States Department of Labor from 2010 to 2011, and as a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) from 2013 to 2015. She focuses on the economic and employment consequences of the financial crisis and economic recession, and discusses the administration's efforts to reduce unemployment and improve the economic conditions of women and working families. Stevenson also outlines her academic and policy research into notable economic issues relevant to the administration's legislative and policy agendas, including the differences between job losses in the goods and service sectors of the U.S. economy, the causes of long-term unemployment, the expansion of unemployment insurance, consumer protections in the retirement planning and investment advising industry, workplace flexibility, paid sick leave for federal employees and contractors, the federal minimum wage, and the gender wage gap. Also discussed are the relationship between academic research and government service, the Obama administration's attention to economic issues affecting women, the workplace culture of, and work-life balance in, the Obama White House, and the administration's use of executive actions on economic issues after the loss of Democratic majorities in Congress
Presidents--United States; Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009--United States; Women--Economic conditions.--United States; Unemployment--United States; Unemployment insurance--United States; Consumer protection--Law and legislation--United States; Sick leave--Law and legislation--United States; Minimum wage--Law and legislation--United States; Pay equity--United States; Wages--Women--United States; Stevenson, Betsey; Obama, Barack; Council of Economic Advisers (U.S.); United States. Department of Labor
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2022
Physical Description
63 pages
Note (Biographical)
Betsey Stevenson is a professor and economist. Stevenson served as chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor under Secretary Hilda Solis from 2010 to 2011. From 2013 to 2015, Stevenson was a member of the Council of Economic Advisers. Stevenson is also affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Board of Directors of the American Law and Economics Association, the Brookings Institution, the International Journal of Happiness and Development, and the ifo Institute for Economic Research. At the time of the interview, Stevenson is a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan
Note
Interviewed by Dov Weinryb Grohsgal on January 20, 2022. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Betsey Stevenson, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023