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Levy Graduate Programs
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The Levy Economics Institute Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy were created to offer students an alternative to mainstream graduate programs in economics and finance. The Institute is well known for its work in macroeconomic theory and policy analysis, the development and exploration of alternative measures of economic well-being and income and time poverty, and its continuing efforts to extend the work of Distinguished Scholars Minsky and Godley.
About Our Programs

About Our Programs

Our M.A. and M.S. programs provide instruction grounded in the innovative approaches to financial instability developed by Levy Institute Distinguished Scholar Hyman P. Minsky and the stock-flow modeling method created by Distinguished Scholar Wynne Godley, as well as more than 30 years’ experience in the measurement and understanding of income and wealth inequality. 

  • MA Program
  • MS Program
  • 3+2 Program
  • 4+1 Program

Five Areas of Research

  • + Macroeconomic Theory, Policy, and Modeling

    + Macroeconomic Theory, Policy, and Modeling

    The central focus in this research area is the use of the Levy Institute's macroeconomic models in generating strategic analyses for the US, euro area, and world economies. The outcomes of alternative scenarios are projected and analyzed, with the results serving to help policymakers understand the implications of the available policy options.

    The Levy Institute macroeconomic models, created by Distinguished Scholar Wynne Godley, are accounting based. The US model employs a complete and consistent system (in that all sectors “sum up”) of stocks and flows (such as income, production, and wealth). The world model is a “closed” system in which 11 trading blocs—of which the United States, China, Japan, and Western Europe are four—are represented. Each bloc’s imports are described in terms of exports from the other 10 blocs. With this information, and using alternative assumptions (e.g., growth rates and trade shares), trends are identified and trade and production patterns assessed.
  • + Employment and Labor Markets

    + Employment and Labor Markets


    In the aftermath of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, too many American workers are still facing unemployment or underemployment, with some full-time workers earning wages that place them at or below the official poverty line. Clearly, there is room for improvement on the jobs front.

    In response to this problem, Levy Institute scholars have proposed a full employment, or job opportunity, program that would employ all who are willing to work, in order to increase flexibility between economic sectors and lower the social and economic costs of unemployment. In the postwar period, “Keynesian” policies to promote full employment have relied on a favorable business environment to stimulate investment spending, and they have been largely ineffective: unemployment rates have trended upward, real wages for most workers have declined, and poverty rates have remained stubbornly high.

    Students in this area of research will focus on employment and labor markets, including the Levy Institute's proposed full employment program, as well as on researching the effects of technology on earnings and trends in productivity, the effects of a minimum-wage increase on hiring practices and earnings, and the impact of unions on economic performance in developing countries.
  • + Monetary Policy and Financial Structure

    + Monetary Policy and Financial Structure


    This research area encompasses the structure of markets and institutions operating in the financial sector. Research builds on the work of Distinguished Scholar Hyman P. Minsky—notably, his financial instability hypothesis—and examines the institutional, regulatory, and market arrangements that contribute to financial instability, as well as the policies necessary to contain it.

    Recent research in this program area has concentrated on the structure of financial markets and institutions, with the aim of determining the fragility, and potential failure, of financial systems. Issues explored include the extent to which domestic and international economic events (such as the financial meltdown of 2007–8 and the subsequent Great Recession) coincide with the types of instabilities Minsky describes, and involve analyses of his policy recommendations for alleviating instability and other economic problems. Beginning in 2008, this research was extended to include financial re-regulation and, in 2011, provision of a government safety net in times of financial crisis, the focus of two multi-year projects underwritten by the Ford Foundation.
  • + Distribution of Income, Wealth, and Well-Being

    + Distribution of Income, Wealth, and Well-Being

     
    It is widely recognized that existing official measures of economic well-being need to be improved in order to generate accurate cross-sectional and intertemporal comparisons, as the picture of economic well-being can vary significantly depending on the measure used. Alternative measures are also crucially important for the formulation and evaluation of a wide variety of social and economic policies. Research on the intersection of gender inequality, expanded income, and time poverty was central to the development of the Levy Institute Measure of Time and Income Poverty (LIMTIP), a new, innovative income measure that accounts for the negative impact time deficits exert on living standards. Related studies include the effects of childcare subsidies on poverty and integrating time use into the formulation of public policy.

    This area offers a broad view of what an economy is and how it functions, bringing into the analysis not only paid work but also unpaid work (subsistence activities, caring for household members, community volunteer work) as an integral component of any economy. Research in this area also includes studies on public and private pensions, the economic well-being of the elderly, well-being over the life course, the role of assets in economic well-being, and the determinants of wealth accumulation.
  • + Gender Equality and the Economy

    + Gender Equality and the Economy


    While the elimination of gender inequalities has become a focus of policy discussions in recent years, the vast majority of women around the world still do not enjoy equality in economic participation, physical security, access to land, and financial resources or earnings. Closing gender gaps requires policy interventions that enhance women's economic opportunities and outcomes.

    The Levy Institute’s Gender Equality and the Economy research program focuses on the ways in which economic processes and policies affect gender equality, and examines the influence of gender inequalities on economic outcomes. Its goal is to stimulate reexamination of key economic concepts, models, and indicators—with a particular view to reformulating policy in order to recommend policies that promote gender equality.

    The Levy Institute also conducts research on economic policy issues in the United States and globally (e.g., Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Greece, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Turkey, Israel, South Africa, China, India, and the Republic of Korea).

Research Resources

  • Photo by Scott Barrow
    Levy Economics Institute Library
    The Levy Economics Institute Library contains more than 12,000 volumes covering economics, finance, econometrics, and related subjects. Students also have access, through the Levy Library, to the Connect New York system of interlibrary loans, which makes hundreds of thousands of additional books in academic libraries across New York State automatically available for borrowing. The library also provides access to published articles in virtually every major economic journal through the EconLit, Business Source Premier, and Business and Economics Theory Collection databases. Further coverage of working papers, books, position papers, and articles is provided through subscriptions to the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Social Science Research Network. Additional statistical resources provided by the Levy Economics Institute Library include LexisNexis, the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, and Historical Statistics of the United States.
  • Bard College Library
    Students also have access to Bard’s College library complex. The resources of the library and the satellite libraries—the Levy Institute’s library and the Center for Curatorial Studies on the Annandale campus, and in the Bard Graduate Center in New York City—include more than 400,000 volumes and 14,000 journals available in print or online. In addition, online databases central to all the disciplines in Bard's curriculum provide access to indexes and abstracts. Users may consult these and other online resources from the library's more than 50 computer stations, any public lab, most dormitory rooms, and from off campus anywhere in the world.  Further research can be done in the more than 140 additional databases available online on the Bard Library website.

Engaged Learning

  • Intimate Learning Environment
    Small-group interaction in lectures and seminars encourages students to expand their understanding of economic theory and their influence in the global community. Students participate in every discussion and develop close working relationships with faculty in an environment of active learning. Resident scholars teaching in the graduate programs are extremely accessible, and consider themselves mentors as well as teachers.
  • Extensive Research
    A crucial component of the Levy M.S. is research. In the second year of the program, students, working under the close supervision of program faculty, apply their coursework to an active research project. This extensive research training is designed to help candidates hone their skills and deepen their substantive knowledge in one of the five concentrations offered by the program. For M.A. candidates, it is expected that they will produce a final paper that is an original written work, encompassing their coursework, desk studies, fieldwork (if applicable) and library research.
  • Our Graduates
    Our programs prepare graduates for successful careers in the for-profit, nonprofit, and public sectors. Under the Levy Institute's vast professional network, students are prepared to take on jobs in organizations such as the International Labour Organization, United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, World Bank, and the US Federal Reserve System.
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Graduate Programs in
Economic Theory and Policy

Levy Economics Institute
Blithewood Road
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504
Admission Contact:
Carlton Rounds
Phone: 845-758-7776
Email: [email protected] 
Email: [email protected]
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