Care Work and the Economy is led by Dr. Maria Floro (Professor of Economics, American University) and Dr. Elizabeth King (Nonresident Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institution). The research project is an initiative of the Program in Gender Analysis in Economics (PGAE) in the Department of Economics at American University and is managed by Shirin Arslan.
Maria S. Floro leads Care Work and the Economy as the Co-Principal Investigator. Floro is a professor of Economics at American University in Washington DC and co-director of the Graduate Program on Gender Analysis in Economics (PGAE). Her publications include books on Informal Credit Markets and the New Institutional Economics, Women’s Work in the World Economy, and Gender, Development, and Globalization: Economics as if All People Mattered (co-authored; forthcoming) as well as monographs and journal articles on vulnerability, informal employment, urban food security, time use and well-being, financial crises, urban poverty, households savings, credit and asset ownership. She has collaborated with researchers, women’s groups and community organizations in Thailand, Philippines, Ecuador and Bolivia in conducting fieldwork on vulnerability, gender and informal employment in urban poor communities. She is currently working on analysis of time use survey data of China, Mongolia and Thailand and serves as technical adviser to the Economic and Social Costs of Violence Against Women Project. Floro has a Ph.D. in Food Research from Stanford University, a Master’s from Monash University, and BA from the University of the Philippines.
Elizabeth M. King is currently Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, adjunct professor of Georgetown University, commissioner of 3ie, and Board member of international NGOs. She was the World Bank’s senior spokesperson and professional head for global policy and strategic issues related to education and human development for five years from 2009. In 2016, she was on the research team of the Global Education Commission which launched its The Learning Generation report. She has published on topics such as household investments in human capital and the link between these investments and poverty and economic development; gender issues in development; education finance, and the impact of decentralization reforms. Ms. King has a Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University and a Masters and BA degrees from the University of the Philippines.
Shirin Arslan serves as the Program Manager for the Care Work and the Economy Project. Previously, she managed the Program on Gender Analysis in Economics (PGAE) at American University’s Department of Economics, where she led the PGAE’s core projects and efforts to strengthen the program’s global partnerships and impact. She also served as a Graduate Fellow at Oxfam America and as a Researcher for the Services Employees International Union (SEIU) and other NGOs. Currently, she serves as a Research Fellow at the DC Policy Center and a member of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE). Shirin holds a master’s degree in Economics and a Graduate Certificate in Gender Analysis in Economics from American University.
Jennifer serves as the Communications Assistant for the Care Work and the Economy Project. She holds a master’s degree in Global Environmental Policy from American University School of International Service in Washington, DC. Her specific research area is food and agriculture regarding industrialized supply chains. She also has conducted research on pesticide usage in Costa Rica, Heir’s Property issues the U.S. Deep South, and fisheries in North Carolina. She holds a bachelor’s in Journalism from University of Hawaii.
