The David G. Terkla Seminar “The Economics of Skill Recognition: Defining, Measuring, and Rewarding Skill in a Changing World of Work” Tuesday, March 31, 2026 4:00-5:15pm Alumni Lounge Campus Center 2 Floor Room 2551 Reception immediately following Dr. Peter Q. Blair Harvard University, Faculty BE-Lab, Principal Investigator NBER, Faculty Research Associate Harvard Project on Workforce, Co-Director Stanford University, National Fellow Dr. Peter Q. Blair is on the faculty at Harvard University in the Graduate School of Education where he co-directs the Harvard Project on Workforce. He also serves as a Faculty Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and the Principal Investigator of the BE-Lab – a research group with partners across several universities. In addition to his scholarly work, Dr. Blair has served as a volunteer economist with the Council of Economic Advisers during the Biden-Harris presidential transition.

The annual David G. Terkla Seminar is on Tuesday, March 31 at 4pm with guest speaker Peter Q. Blair. Peter will be presenting "The Economics of Skill Recognition: Defining, Measuring, and Rewarding Skill in a Changing World of Work". Details below.

MARCIO SANTETTI Assistant Professor of Economics Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies, Emerson College SPRING 2026 Economics Seminar Series UMassBoston Economics Department WEDNESDAY MARCH 25, 2026 11:15AM-12:45PM WHEATLEY-PETERS HALL 5TH FLOOR ROOM 041 "The Sraffian Supermultiplier in the U.S. Economy" Marcio Santetti is an Assistant Professor of Economics in the Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies at Emerson College. His research interests include the intersection of business cycles with income distribution, economic growth, and the environment using time-series methods. His work has appeared in outlets such as Metroeconomica, Structural Change & Economic Dynamics, Review of Political Economy, and Review of Social Economy.

Our next department seminar is Wednesday, March 25 at 11:15am with Marcio Santetti (Emerson College). Marcio is presenting "The Sraffian Supermultiplier in the U.S. Economy".

Our first department seminar of the spring semester is Wednesday, February 25 at 11:15am with Joanna Venator (Boston College). Joanna is presenting "Reproductive Policy Shocks and Defensive Investments in Contraception". (Details below)

Karl Marx’s reading of Adam Smith - Homo Oeconomicus Adam Smith and Karl Marx are commonly viewed as opposites, both in terms of their approaches to political economy and their ideological outlooks: Smith as a champion of individual self-interest and un...

I don't think it's Marx's understanding of Smith: doi.org/10.1007/s414...

Computational methods and classical‐Marxian economics This article surveys computational approaches to classical-Marxian economics. These approaches include a range of techniques—such as numerical simulations, agent-based models, and Monte Carlo methods...

For a survey on the growing area of computational methods in classical and Marxian economics, see: doi.org/10.1111/joes... (n/n).

The Dynamics of Exploitation and Class in Accumulation Economies This paper analyses the equilibrium dynamics of exploitation and class in accumulation economies with population growth, technical change and bargaining by adopting a novel computational approach. Fi...

Our computational simulation approach across this work also allows us to carefully analyze the dynamics of exploitation and evolution of class structures over time in a very detailed way, see our paper in Metroeconomica: doi.org/10.1111/meca... (5/n)

Exploitation, skills, and inequality This paper uses a computational framework to analyse the equilibrium dynamics of exploitation and inequality in accumulation economies with heterogeneous labour. A novel index is presented which me...

We can also study how policy (or tax) interventions with different aims affect different facets of inequality and exploitation, as we did in a paper in the Review of Social Economy: doi.org/10.1080/0034... (4/n)

to characterize unequal exchange (or imperialistic international relations) between countries, as in a recent paper in Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space: doi.org/10.1177/0308.... (3/n)

considers contributions to the economy in addition to market outcomes. Standard approaches to income and wealth inequality focus on outcomes, i.e. how much one earns or how much one has, rather than how much one puts into the economy. We're can use exploitation intensity (2/n)

Excited to talk about some of my work on exploitation and inequality with @ineteconomics.bsky.social, particularly the concept of exploitation intensity developed with my co-authors Roberto Veneziani and Naoki Yoshihara. Exploitation provides a notion of inequality that (1/n)

Our next department seminar is Wednesday, December 10 at 11:15am with Cody Cook (Yale University). Cody is presenting "The Short-Run Effects of Congestion Pricing in New York City". (Details below)

A last minute reminder: we are hiring in health economics this year (JOE ad linked below). Review of applications begins November 15!

Our next department seminar is Wednesday, November 12 at 11:15am with Amanda Pallais (Harvard University). Amanda is presenting "Inefficient Social Disconnection". (Details below)

Classical competition and equilibrium: an agent-based analysis* In A Mathematical Formulation of the Ricardian System, Pasinetti (1960) lays out the foundations of what has been dubbed the canonical classical model. He proves the model to be logically consisten...

This ABM deepens theoretical understanding of the classical competitive process and equilibrium formation, and showcases some of the advantages of this modeling approach. There are also 50 free e-prints of the article available at the following link: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/TNJST... (n/n)

As the simulation unfolds over many time periods, profit rates on each parcel of land come to oscillate around an equilibrium value that is known from the corresponding analytical model, yet none of the agents in the simulation know this equilibrium. (8/n)

capitalists and landlords based on whether or not expectations of produced output are realized. Expectations can differ from reality depending on how many (few) capitalists decide to produce on a piece of land from the advertised rents they receive. (7/n)

with key distributive variables oscillating around their equilibrium values. Specifically, capitalists allocate productive capacity (labor) to parcels of land of varying quality based on advertised rents, production takes place, and then surplus is distributed between (6/n)

decentralized competitive mechanisms that can generate the "Classical Competitive Equilibrium" (CCE) found in the canonical model. We show that simple competitive interactions between bounded rational agents with localized knowledge generate classical gravitational dynamics (5/n)

described equilibrium as a center of gravity for short-term fluctuations (similar to an emergent property) rather than a static state, gaps exist between the parsimonious canonical classical model and the mechanisms underlying it. This paper builds an ABM of the (4/n)

for each type of land. Thus, distribution between workers, capitalists, and landlords is clear. However, the actual competitive mechanisms underlying these macroeconomic outcomes are, by comparison, not so well understood. Similarly, because the Classicals (and Marx) often (3/n)

what many consider the "canonical classical model", as formulated by Pasinetti. The analytical properties of the canonical model are well-known: it is determinate in all its macroeconomic features; and competitive forces ensure unique wage and profit rates, and unique rents (2/n)

Classical competition and equilibrium: an agent-based analysis* In A Mathematical Formulation of the Ricardian System, Pasinetti (1960) lays out the foundations of what has been dubbed the canonical classical model. He proves the model to be logically consisten...

Very excited my paper (co-authored with Roberto Veneziani), "Classical competition and equilibrium: an agent-based analysis" is forthcoming in the Journal of Post Keynesian Economics: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
This paper develops an agent-based computational model (ABM) of (1/n)

The Oct. issue of History of Political Economy was recently published, including my paper, "Scarf's, Shapley's, and Shubik's Applications of the "Core" to General Equilibrium". The paper & entire issue are open access for a limited time: read.dukeupress.edu/hope/article.... @hopecenter.bsky.social

Our next department seminar is Wednesday, October 22 at 11:15am with David McMillon (Emory University). David is presenting "Does Racial Hierarchy Really Harm Everyone? Relative Racial Status Resentment and the Economics of Reparative Reforms". (Details below)

We are hiring! We are conducting a tenure-track search in health economics (Assistant Professor level). Our department is committed to methodological & theoretical pluralism, with focus on issues of poverty, inequality, gender, & race. The JOE ad is here: www.aeaweb.org/joe/listing....

Our first department seminar of the year is next Wednesday, October 1 at 11:15am with Patricia Cortés (Boston University). Patricia is presenting "Making Information Stick: Evidence from Correcting Misperceptions toward Paternity Leave-Taking in Japan". (Details below)

Yes, it was.

Always wonderful to see hard copies of publications. "Scarf's, Shapley's, and Shubik's Applications of the `the Core' to General Equilibrium" in the October issue of History of Political Economy recently arrived: doi.org/10.1215/0018...

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