The Bard Economics and Finance Program, established in the fall of 2007, is a five-year BS/BA dual-degree program.
Students receive both a BS degree in economics and finance and a BA degree in an academic program other than economics. The program is designed to meet the needs of students who wish to achieve a broad education in the liberal arts and sciences even as they prepare themselves for careers in the financial world.Requirements
Student Work
Faculty
Program Director: Emanuele Citera
Phone: 845-758-7243
Office: Albee 204
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 845-758-7243
Office: Albee 204
E-mail: [email protected]
| Youssef Ait Benasser Emanuele Citera Sanjaya DeSilva Michael Martell | Aniruddha Mitra Dimitri B. Papadimitriou Pavlina Tcherneva Taun Toay |
News and Events
The Levy Economics Institute Drafts Open Letter to Indian Government
The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College has drafted an open letter to the government of India and gathered signatures in defense of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the largest rights-based public employment program in the world. Spearheaded by Levy Institute President Pavlina R. Tcherneva, leading international experts have added their names to the open letter in support of the program, which is facing imminent repeal by the Indian government.
The Levy Economics Institute Drafts Open Letter to Indian Government
MGNREGA, signed into law in 2005, is set to be replaced by the Viksit Bharat G RAM G Bill (2025), which would consolidate authority over the program in the central government while transferring greater and likely unsustainable obligations for administration and payment to the states. MGNREGA aims to guarantee the right to work, and generates over 2 billion person-days of work annually for approximately 50 million households in India. More than half of all workers in the program are women, and about 40 percent are from Scheduled Castes or Tribes. The early years of MGNREGA coincided with unprecedented rural wage growth, and studies confirmed the program’s positive effects on economic output and efficiency.
“Originally passed with unanimous parliamentary support, MGNREGA transcends political lines. Its foundational principle—that the national government must guarantee an employment safety net—affirms economic dignity as a fundamental right,” the letter states. Dismantling the program, the letter concludes, would be a “historic error.”
Post Date: 12-19-2025
Economist Pavlina Tcherneva Speaks with Marketplace About Labor Market
Pavlina Tcherneva, president of the Levy Economics Institute at Bard College, spoke with Marketplace about the current state of the US labor market. “Now the slowdown in hiring is turning into more layoffs,” Tcherneva said. “So, I think basically, we are slowly moving towards a vicious cycle in the labor market that is likely to get worse.”Economist Pavlina Tcherneva Speaks with Marketplace About Labor Market
The Levy Economics Institute Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy were created to offer students an alternative to mainstream programs in economics and finance. These programs combine a rigorous course of study with the exceptional opportunity to participate in advanced economics research alongside Institute scholars. The Levy Institute’s programs also give Bard College undergraduates the opportunity to meet prominent figures who give seminars, attend conferences, and serve on the research staff.
Post Date: 11-11-2025
Bard College’s Levy Economics Institute Launches New Capitol Hill Series in D.C. on November 19
On November 19, the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College is launching its Capitol Hill Series, which will bring together financial experts, academics, and policymakers in Washington, D.C., to discuss the most pressing issues facing the economy. The inaugural session, “Rethinking the Federal Reserve’s Policy Framework and Independence,” takes place at at the Rayburn House Office Building and aims to foster dialogue on critical economic issues among policymakers, congressional staffers, experts, and the public.Bard College’s Levy Economics Institute Launches New Capitol Hill Series in D.C. on November 19
Speakers include Pavlina R. Tcherneva, president of the Levy Economics Institute; Claudia Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors; James K. Galbraith, professor at the University of Texas at Austin; L. Randall Wray, professor at the Levy Economics Institute; and William Bergman, former economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. A Q&A period will follow, moderated by Claire Jones, US economics editor at the Financial Times.
The event will take place on Wednesday, November 19 from 1:30 – 3:30 pm at the Rayburn House Office Building (Room 2045) in Washington, D.C., followed by refreshments and appetizers. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required and space is limited. Learn more about the event and registration here.
SPEAKER SCHEDULE
Introduction | Pavlina R. Tcherneva, Levy Economics Institute
“Why Fed Independence Matters” | Claudia Sahm, New Century Advisors
“Congress and the Federal Reserve” | James K. Galbraith, University of Texas at Austin
“The Fed Is Still Flying Blind” | L. Randall Wray, Levy Economics Institute
“When Does ‘Independence’ Become Tyranny?” | William Bergman, Former Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
William Bergman is a semi-retired independent scholar with four decades of financial market and related educational experience, in private and public sector roles. From 1990 to 2004, he served as an economist and financial markets policy analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He earned an MBA (Finance) and an MA (Public Policy) from the University of Chicago in 1990.
James K. Galbraith holds the Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. Chair in Government/Business at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin. He chairs the board of Economists for Peace and Security and directs the University of Texas Inequality Project. He was executive director of the Joint Economic Committee in the early 1980s. From 1993 to 1997, he served as chief technical adviser to China’s State Planning Commission for macroeconomic reform, and in the first half of 2015 as an informal counselor to the Greek minister of finance.
Claudia Sahm is the chief economist at New Century Advisors. She is a highly regarded expert on monetary and fiscal policy with many years of experience advising key decision-makers at the Federal Reserve, White House, and Congress. She developed the Sahm rule, a closely followed indicator of recessions. Sahm holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan (2007), and a bachelor’s degree in economics, political science, and German from Denison University (1998).
Pavlina R. Tcherneva is president of the Levy Economics Institute, a professor of economics at Bard College, and founding director of the Bard Economic Democracy Initiative. She specializes in modern money and public policy. Tcherneva’s book The Case for a Job Guarantee (Polity 2020) is a timely guide to the benefits of one of the most transformative public policies being discussed today, recognized by the Financial Times in 2020 and published in nine languages. Tcherneva has collaborated with experts from the United Nations Human Rights Council, the International Labor Organization, members of the European Parliament, as well as policy makers from the United States and abroad on designing and evaluating employment programs. She also worked with the Sanders 2016 Presidential campaign, and in 2020 she was invited to serve on the Biden-Harris economic policy volunteer committee, during their Presidential run.
L. Randall Wray is a professor of economics at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College and Emeritus Professor at University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is one of the developers of Modern Money Theory and his newest book on the topic is Understanding Modern Money Theory: Money and Credit in Capitalist Economies (Elgar). He is the 2022 Veblen-Commons Award winner for lifetime contributions to Institutionalist Thought. He has been a Fulbright Scholar to Italy (twice) and to Estonia, and a visiting professor at the Universities of Paris, Bologna, Bergamo, Rome, UNAM in Mexico City, UNICAMP in Brazil, Tallinn University in Estonia, Nankai University, China, and a visiting professor on a continuing basis at Masaryk University, Czech Republic. He was the Distinguished Visiting Professor at Willamette University, Oregon, in 2022-23.
Post Date: 10-29-2025
More Economics News
-
Economist Pavlina Tcherneva Speaks About Labor Market for Marketplace
Economist Pavlina Tcherneva Speaks About Labor Market for Marketplace
Pavlina Tcherneva, president of the Levy Economics Institute at Bard College, spoke with Marketplace about the state of the national employment market. As the government shutdown has halted all nonessential operations, including the jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, economists turn to other available sources to gather data on the current labor market. Tcherneva says that although large firms, with 500 or more employees, added jobs last month, “this is such a small proportion of total employment, it makes no difference to the overall trends,” adding that 90% of employers have fewer than 100 workers. “It’s another look at the weakening labor market.”
Post Date: 10-07-2025
-
Levy Economics Institute Hosted 32nd Annual Conference and Summer Seminar
Levy Economics Institute Hosted 32nd Annual Conference and Summer Seminar
The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College convened its 32nd annual conference, “Money, Finance, and Economic Strategies in Fractured Times” on June 16, followed by the week-long Levy Institute Summer Seminar. The Institute’s flagship conference brought together leading scholars and policymakers to examine contemporary developments in finance, persistent economic fissures shaping the US political landscape, and broader questions impacting the global economy, including China’s trajectory and alternative development approaches for the Global South. The keynote address was delivered by US Representative Ro Khanna, who shed light on the issue of economic insecurity and the policy interventions needed to address it, reinforcing the conference’s emphasis on exploring solutions to systemic challenges.
For the Institute’s Summer Seminar, emerging scholars from 22 different countries were invited to engage with the Institute’s foundational work on Minskyan financial dynamics, stock-flow consistent (SFC) modeling, and monetary sovereignty, and to explore how these frameworks can inform their own research questions, with participants given a platform to present their work. Co-sponsored by the OSUN Economic Democracy Initiative, the workshop underscores a commitment to fostering the next generation of heterodox economists and policymakers equipped to tackle pressing economic issues.
Post Date: 07-09-2025
-
Leading Economists and Policymakers to Discuss Money, Finance, and Economic Strategies in Fractured Times at the Levy Economics Institute’s 32nd Annual Conference, June 16
Leading Economists and Policymakers to Discuss Money, Finance, and Economic Strategies in Fractured Times at the Levy Economics Institute’s 32nd Annual Conference, June 16
Keynote Speaker Is US House Representative Ro Khanna (CA-17)
On Monday, June 16, the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College will host “Money, Finance, and Economic Strategies in Fractured Times,” its 32nd annual conference as an in-person event on the Bard College campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The 32nd Annual Levy Economics Institute Conference gathers top policymakers, economists, and analysts to discuss the most pressing issues of today’s economic landscape. The conference’s keynote speaker is US House Representative Ro Khanna, who represents California’s 17th Congressional District, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, and is serving his fifth term. Participants in the conference will engage in panels on Minskyan analyses of current sources of financial fragility; new directions in public finance; visions for the next progressive policy agenda; climate finance, balance-of-payments constraints, and the global economy; and more. Learn more about the conference and registration here.
Prior to serving in Congress, keynote speaker US House Representative Ro Khanna taught economics at Stanford University and served as deputy assistant secretary of commerce in the Obama administration. Khanna graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago and received a law degree from Yale University. Other featured speakers include Daniel Alpert, Westwood Capital; Leila Davis, University of Massachusetts Boston; Rogerio Studart, Brazilian Center for International Relations; Talmon Joseph Smith, New York Times; Pavlina R. Tcherneva, Levy Institute; James K. Galbraith, University of Texas at Austin; L. Randall Wray, Levy Institute; Ryan Cooper, The American Prospect; Alan Minsky, Progressive Democrats of America; Gennaro Zezza, Levy Institute; Yan Liang, Willamette University; Ndongo Samba Sylla, International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs-Africa); Fadhel Kaboub, Denison University.
The 32nd Annual Levy Economics Institute Conference will take place on June 16, 2025. The program is scheduled to run from 8:45 am to 5:30 pm, with a dinner to follow. Registration for the full conference is $50 for students and $150 for professionals/non-students, and includes lunch and dinner. Register and get more information here. If you wish to attend only the keynote address to be delivered by US Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17) at 2:00pm in Bard College’s Olin Hall, you may register free of charge here—the keynote is free and open to the public, but registration is required for entry.
Post Date: 05-29-2025
-
Pavlina Tcherneva Discusses Budget Deficit and Government Financing
Pavlina Tcherneva Discusses Budget Deficit and Government Financing
Bard Professor of Economics and President of the Levy Economics Institute Pavlina Tcherneva joined WAMC’s Roundtable to discuss the debt ceiling, how the US government spends, and repercussions from potential disruptions to the payments system. She emphasized how Covid relief payments clearly demonstrated that the government does not depend on borrowing or wealthy taxpayers to fund its expenditures but can self-finance. Elon Musk's discovery of so-called “magic money computers” betrays ignorance about the architecture of our federal financial system. Government payments are typically made via electronic means by issuing electronic payments on as-needed basis. As a practical matter, it is virtually impossible for the government to run out of cash. Slash-and-burn policies to cut federal spending are politically motivated and not about US government solvency.
On Marketplace, Tcherneva noted that while small businesses make up a small share of total employment their behavior is a “bellwether for overall trends in the economy”—and small business hiring slowed down in February’s Job Openings and Labor Market Survey.
Post Date: 04-08-2025
-
Pocketbook Issues Such as Raising Minimum Wages, Paid Leave, and Protecting Public Education Could Sway the American Electorate, New Levy Economics Institute Report Says
Pocketbook Issues Such as Raising Minimum Wages, Paid Leave, and Protecting Public Education Could Sway the American Electorate, New Levy Economics Institute Report Says
Long-Term Voting Trends Show Democrats Losing Working Class Support Due to Absence of Clear Vision for Popular Progressive Economic Policies
The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College has published a policy brief outlining economic policies that improve the lives of working-class families and could sway the American electorate. That “Vision Thing”: Formulating a Winning Policy Agenda, Levy Public Policy Brief No. 158, coauthored by Levy Economics Institute President Pavlina R. Tcherneva and Senior Scholar L. Randall Wray, analyzes the shifting allegiances of American voters over the decades as the Democratic Party lost the support of its traditional base—blue-collar and rural counties—and came to be seen as the party of the educated elite, socially liberal, and relatively economically secure.
“Trump was the beneficiary of a long-term retreat of working-class voters from the Democratic Party. But becoming the party of the economically secure in a world of runaway inequality, rising precarity, and widespread frustration with many aspects of the economy does not and will not win elections. Still, as we show in this report, Americans are far more progressive than either party gives them credit for. Whatever path forward Democrats choose, winning back the working class would be a long process without a big and bold vision,” says Tcherneva.
For the first time since 1960, Democrats earned a greater margin of support among the richest third of American voters in 2024 than they did among the poorest or middle third. Meanwhile, Trump gained more vote share in counties rated as distressed—and gained less in prosperous counties—despite those counties benefiting significantly and performing better economically under President Biden’s policies that boosted government assistance. In spite of the Democratic focus on inequality, the party fails to reach the financially disadvantaged (who are the true swing voters) with their message, the report asserts.
“Democrats had neither delivered on nor even highlighted the changes that many voters wanted: policies that would provide economic benefits. They were tired of inflation that reduced purchasing power, wages that remained too low (even in supposedly good labor markets) to support their families, and many other issues related to economic precarity, including the costs of healthcare, prescription drugs, childcare and—for a significant portion—college,” write Tcherneva and Wray.
Assessing ballot measures and polling data, the Levy report identifies worker-friendly policies that would improve the wellbeing of the American working class and win elections. “Americans seem to apply two litmus tests to any proposed policy: (1) how will it impact American jobs and (2) how will it impact American paychecks,” they find. “If tariffs are expected to protect jobs, voters are behind them. If they hurt their paychecks, even conservative-leaning voters are strongly against them.”
Ballot measures indicate voters are more progressive than either party recognizes. Winning policies include: raising minimum wages, lowering taxes on earned income and social security (or eliminating them altogether for tips), making healthcare and education more affordable, protecting funding for public schools, increasing Pell grants, reducing the costs of higher education, and implementing paid sick and family leaves. Importantly, whenever asked, Americans strongly support federal programs of direct employment and on-the-job training—in the form of a federal job guarantee or national service for youths in jobs that support the community and the environment. They also care about rebuilding public infrastructure and investing in arts and culture.
Moreover, voters want policies that protect them from price increases, corporate greed, predatory interest rates, and hidden fees. They support more progressivity in the tax system and fewer tax loopholes for billionaires. They are tired of the dominance of billionaires in lobbying by special interests and campaign finance.
“Employment security, economic mobility, community rehabilitation, and environmental sustainability are winning messages. But they are especially powerful when anchored in concrete policies that directly deliver what they promise—good jobs, good pay, decent benefits, affordable health, education, food, and a peace of mind that Americans can care for loved ones without the threat of unemployment or price shocks or the loss of essential benefits,” the report concludes.
Post Date: 03-10-2025
-
Bard Economist L. Randall Wray Discusses the Evolution of Money
Bard Economist L. Randall Wray Discusses the Evolution of Money
L. Randall Wray, professor of economics at Bard and senior scholar at the Levy Institute, spoke with Anastasia Bendebury and Michael Shilo DeLay of the DemystifySci Podcast about the origin of money and what it has meant throughout history. Wray details money’s evolution, from the transition from Medieval tally sticks to modern central banking, and explains how debt plays a crucial role in our economic system. “All money, every form that it takes, is a debt and a credit,” Wray explains. “Banks create money. The state creates money . . . and you can create money. Anyone can create money.” Wray continues, “There are lots of valuable things that are not money. So, gold is valuable in part because it has some useful characteristics . . . it has been prized probably back to the very beginning of humans. But that does not make it money, it is not money. So, money is a debt, it’s an IOU. But you want some evidence of that debt.”
Post Date: 10-16-2024
Events
There are no events to display.