Sarah Necker Economic Literacy: Measurement, Expectations, and Policy Views Abstract: We study the population’s economic literacy—the understanding of basic economic concepts—and its importance for the formation of economic expectations and policy views. We device and implement a survey module to measure economic literacy in a representative adult population. Psychometric analysis supports the reliability and validity of the test instrument. While associated with education and intelligence, economic literacy captures a distinct and genuine concept. Subgroup differences in economic literacy suggest limited generalizability of prior analyses based on economics students. A strong age gradient indicates acquisition through life experience. Three analyses show that economic literacy enables voters to improve information processing and form policy views more coherent with their underlying preferences. First, economic literacy allows individuals to form better-anchored economic expectations. Second, economic literacy increases individuals’ responsiveness to experimentally provided information on policy trade-offs. Third, economic literacy leads to a closer alignment between voters’ preferences, policy views, and party choices.
For 17 years, Safanya Searcy, director of unionwide capacity at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), has been in the rooms where campaigns are won and lost. She's led efforts to elect champions, trained organizers, built political programs in majority-minority communities, and prepared union members to run for office. In this keynote conversation, "You Can't Win What You Don't Build: What 17 Years in the Labor Movement Have Taught Me About Leadership, Power, and Lasting Change," she shares lessons from the field and the pivotal moments that shaped her career. Safanya will discuss why she shifted from running campaigns to building the capacity of the people who run them and will offer a candid look at what works, what doesn’t, and why lasting change depends on investing in people. Expect practical advice for students entering the labor movement and social justice work, along with a clear-eyed perspective on what it takes to build power that endures. Part of the ILR School's 2026 Union Days.
Join us for Legalized Inequalities: Immigration and Race in the Low-Wage Workplace, a Union Days book talk and panel discussion on low-wage work, inequality and the policies shaping today’s labor landscape. Beyond unlivable wages and limited upward mobility, low-wage work in the United States often includes unsafe conditions and degrading treatment. Immigrants and people of color are overrepresented in these roles, and often feel as though they are unable to change their working conditions. Drawing on interviews with more than 300 low-wage Haitian and Central American workers and advocates, the authors reveal how U.S. policies produce and sustain job instability and insecurity. They argue that reforming labor and employment law, immigration law and civil rights law is essential to reshaping the low-wage workplace. Hear from the authors: Kate L. Griffith, Jean McKelvey-Alice Grant Professor, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Diversity, and Faculty Development, Cornell ILR School Shannon Gleeson, Edmund Ezra Day Professor, Chairperson of the Department of Global Labor and Work, Cornell ILR School Patricia Campos-Medina, Executive Director of the Worker Institute, Cornell ILR School Darlène Dubuisson, Assistant Professor of Caribbean Studies, University of California, Berkeley This event is geared toward an in-person audience, so we strongly prefer you join us on our Ithaca campus. If this is not possible, please register to join us on Zoom. Part of the ILR School's 2026 Union Days.
The Frontiers of Discovery Lecture Series brings influential researchers and innovators to Cornell to share the ideas and discoveries shaping the future of science and scholarship. By connecting students with leading experts, the series aims to inspire curiosity, interdisciplinary thinking, and meaningful dialogue across the Cornell community. This event will feature Dr. Jefferson Cowie, the John L. Seigenthaler Chair of History at Vanderbilt University and recipient of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for History. A leading voice in modern American social and political history, Cowie's work examines how class, race, and labor have shaped the nation's political culture and evolving definitions of freedom. During this special lecture, Dr.Cowie will discuss his Pulitzer Prize–winning book, Freedom's Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power, which traces generations of local resistance to federal authority and interrogates a powerful and often contested vision of American freedom. Drawing on his broader scholarship—including influential works such as The Great Exception and Stayin' Alive—he will offer insights into the historical forces that continue to shape political life in the United States today. The program will include opening remarks from the event organizers, followed by the keynote lecture and a moderated Q&A session, during which attendees will have the opportunity to engage directly with the speaker. Students, faculty, and members of the Cornell community are encouraged to attend this opportunity to hear from a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and one of the most compelling interpreters of modern American political history. Co-hosted by the Cornell Literary Society
When labor peace breaks down, the consequences reach far beyond the bargaining table. As labor conflicts become more visible and negotiations more complex, one of the least‑understood questions in labor relations is also among the most important: Who helps the parties when the stakes are highest? This Keynote will explore the role and impact of labor mediation and why preserving that capacity matters for workers, employers, the economy, and the public. Drawing on recent developments in conflict and dispute resolution, the session examines the essential role of mediators, the repercussions of downsizing the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and the urgent need to rebuild what is close to being lost. Join Cornell ILR School Dean Alex Colvin as he moderates a panel featuring faculty members Ariel Avgar, Dionne Pohler, and Javier Ramirez for a critical conversation on the evolving landscape and actions necessary to build labor peace. What You'll Learn: Why labor mediation is a specialized craftWhy the loss of experienced labor mediators mattersHow a more polarized and conflict-prone environment is changing the workplace and labor relationsWhy trusted neutrals are essential in high-stakes disputesHow education, training, and collaboration can help preserve mediation capacity Speakers: Ariel Avgar David M. Cohen Professor of Labor Relations, Law, and History Cornell ILR School Cornell ILR School Alexander Colvin Kenneth F. Kahn '69 Dean, Martin F. Scheinman ’75, MS ’76, Professor of Conflict Resolution Cornell ILR School Dionne Pohler David and Alexandra Lipsky Professor in Dispute Resolution and Labor Relations Cornell ILR School Javier Ramirez Executive Manager, National Conflict Resolution Service, Scheinman Institute Cornell ILR School
