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Stephanie A Kelton (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Bell; born October 10, 1969) is an American
heterodox economist Heterodox economics is any economic thought or theory that contrasts with orthodox schools of economic thought, or that may be beyond neoclassical economics.Frederic S. Lee, 2008. "heterodox economics," ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics' ...
and academic, and a leading proponent of
Modern Monetary Theory Modern Monetary Theory or Modern Money Theory (MMT) is a heterodox * * * * * * macroeconomic theory that describes currency as a public monopoly and unemployment as evidence that a currency monopolist is overly restricting the supply ...
. She is a professor at
Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system' ...
and a Senior Fellow at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the
New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSS ...
. She was formerly a professor at the
University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...
. She also served as an advisor to Bernie Sanders's 2016
presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: * President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
. Kelton is founder and editor-in-chief of the blog New Economic Perspectives. She was named one of ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'''s 50 "thinkers, doers, and visionaries transforming American politics in 2016". ''
Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...
'' later placed Kelton on its list of Most Creative People in Business. In fall 2019, she joined the board of Matriarch PAC.


Family

Kelton is the daughter of Jerald and Marlene Bell. She is married to Paul Kelton, and they have two children.


Education

Kelton studied
business finance Corporate finance is the area of finance that deals with the sources of funding, the capital structure of corporations, the actions that managers take to increase the value of the firm to the shareholders, and the tools and analysis used to all ...
and
economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...
at
California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...
, and earned a B.S. and a B.A. in 1995. She received a Rotary scholarship to study economics at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, receiving her
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
in 1997. On a fellowship from
Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...
, Kelton then spent a year at the
Levy Economics Institute Founded in 1986 as the Jerome Levy Economics Institute, the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy think tank. The purpose of its research and other activities is to enable scholars and leaders in busi ...
of
Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...
. She obtained a Ph.D. in economics from
The New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSS ...
in 2001 with her dissertation, "Public Policy and Government Finance: A Comparative Analysis Under Different Monetary Systems."


Employment

Kelton is a professor of public policy and economics at
Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system' ...
and was formerly the chair of the economics department at the
University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...
. She was a research scholar at the UMKC Center for Full Employment and Price Stability and the
Levy Economics Institute Founded in 1986 as the Jerome Levy Economics Institute, the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy think tank. The purpose of its research and other activities is to enable scholars and leaders in busi ...
in
upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York (state), New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upsta ...
. Kelton is editor-in-chief of the ''New Economic Perspectives''
blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in Reverse ...
. On December 26, 2014, Kelton was designated Chief Economist for the Democratic Minority Staff of the
Senate Budget Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Budget was established by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. It is responsible for drafting Congress's annual budget plan and monitoring action on the budget for the Federal G ...
, a post she held in 2015 and early 2016, when she left that position to become an economic advisor to the
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 20 ...
campaign. On May 25, 2017,
Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system' ...
announced that Kelton would join the university "This fall as a professor in the forthcoming Center for the Study of Inequality and Social Justice."" She joined Stony Brook at the same time as her husband Paul, who was appointed the first Robert David Lion Gardiner Chair in
American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densel ...
, at the College of Arts and Sciences. In 2019, Kelton was invited to be the Geoff Harcourt Visiting Professor at the
University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
.


Research

Kelton's primary research interests include
monetary theory Monetary economics is the branch of economics that studies the different competing theories of money: it provides a framework for analyzing money and considers its functions (such as medium of exchange, store of value and unit of account), and it ...
, employment policy, history of economic monetary thought,
social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
,
public finance Public finance is the study of the role of the government in the economy. It is the branch of economics that assesses the government revenue and government expenditure of the public authorities and the adjustment of one or the other to achiev ...
,
fiscal policy In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection ( taxes or tax cuts) and expenditure to influence a country's economy. The use of government revenue expenditures to influence macroeconomic variabl ...
,
financial accounting Financial accounting is the field of accounting concerned with the summary, analysis and reporting of financial transactions related to a business. This involves the preparation of financial statements available for public use. Stockholders, ...
,
international finance International finance (also referred to as international monetary economics or international macroeconomics) is the branch of financial economics broadly concerned with monetary and macroeconomic interrelations between two or more countries. Inter ...
, and European monetary integration. She has been a notable proponent of and researcher in
Modern Monetary Theory Modern Monetary Theory or Modern Money Theory (MMT) is a heterodox * * * * * * macroeconomic theory that describes currency as a public monopoly and unemployment as evidence that a currency monopolist is overly restricting the supply ...
, publishing several papers and editing books in the field, and a supporter of the proposal for a
Job Guarantee A job guarantee is an economic policy proposal that aims to provide a sustainable solution to inflation and unemployment. Its aim is to create full employment and price stability by having the state promise to hire unemployed workers as an emp ...
.


In the media

Kelton publishes formally as well as in the popular press and appears on
mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit informati ...
. She has been a frequent guest on television and radio, including
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
's ''
Up with Chris Hayes ''Up'', branded in its final incarnation as ''Up with David Gura'', was a news and opinion television program that aired weekends on MSNBC. The program debuted September 17, 2011, as ''Up with Chris Hayes'', and was hosted by Hayes until March 20 ...
'' and
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's ''
On Point ''On Point'' is a radio show produced by WBUR-FM in Boston and syndicated by American Public Media (APM). The show addresses a wide range of issues from news, politics, arts and culture, health, technology, environmental, and business topics, t ...
''. Kelton has had opinion pieces published in ''The Los Angeles Times'' and ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''.
How We Think About the Deficit Is Mostly Wrong
' appeared in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. Kelton wrote the article "Congress can give every American a pony (if it breeds enough ponies)"'','' which appeared in ''
The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
''.


''The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy''

Kelton's ''The Deficit Myth'' appeared on ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' bestseller list for nonfiction in June 2020. It is an introduction to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), an economic school of thought that is growing in popularity. It seeks to explain why for countries with monetary sovereignty the federal budget is fundamentally different from a household budget, and why deficits are generally good for the economy. Instead of focusing on self-imposed budget constraints, Kelton suggests we should use inflation and real resource limits as the measuring stick for public spending.
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
economist John H. Cochrane gave the book a negative review, saying that Kelton's "implications don't lead to her desired conclusions ... her logic, facts and language turn into pretzels". Cochrane called Kelton's analysis of
inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...
biased, and said the book cited "no articles in major peer-reviewed journals, monographs with explicit models and evidence, or any of the other trappings of economic discourse".
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
economist Alberto Bisin also panned the book, writing, "it's not that the public-spending agenda proposed in the book wouldn't be worthwhile, or that monetization is never a useful tool of monetary policy. ... These are all issues currently studied and debated in (mainstream) academic and policy circles. But MMT, as exposed in the book, appears to be a very poor attempt at supporting this political agenda, with no coherent theoretical support." Former
European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's most important centra ...
chief economist
Otmar Issing Otmar Issing (born 27 March 1936 in Würzburg) is a German economist who served as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2006 and concurrently as ECB chief economist. He developed the 'two-pillar' approach to m ...
gave the book a negative review in an article criticizing the
Modern Monetary Theory Modern Monetary Theory or Modern Money Theory (MMT) is a heterodox * * * * * * macroeconomic theory that describes currency as a public monopoly and unemployment as evidence that a currency monopolist is overly restricting the supply ...
. Former
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
economics professor and Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Richard N. Cooper called ''The Deficit Myth'' a "clear and vigorously written book" in a review for ''
Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy a ...
''. According to Cooper, the "U.S. congressional fiscal action in response to the pandemic, as well as new programs launched by the Federal Reserve, suggests that the author is at least partly right in her assessment of the spending power of governments." Nichols College economics professor Hans G. Despain called the book a "triumph" in the ''
London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...
Review of Books''. According to Despain, the book "dispels six key myths that have shaped the conventional understanding of deficits as inherently bad, instead arguing that deficits can strengthen economies and lead to faster growth.


Selected works

* Bell (Kelton), Stephanie,
Can Taxes and Bonds Finance Government Spending?
,
Levy Economics Institute Founded in 1986 as the Jerome Levy Economics Institute, the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy think tank. The purpose of its research and other activities is to enable scholars and leaders in busi ...
, July 1998 * Bell (Kelton), Stephanie,
The role of the state and the hierarchy of money
, ''
Cambridge Journal of Economics The ''Cambridge Journal of Economics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of economics. The journal was founded in 1977 by the ''Cambridge Political Economy Society'' with the aim of publishing articles that followed the economic traditions est ...
'', Vol. 25, 2001, pp. 149–163 * Kelton, Stephanie, Edward J. Nell, editors. ''The State, the Market, and the
Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
:
Metallism Metallism is the economic principle that the value of money derives from the purchasing power of the commodity upon which it is based. The currency in a metallist monetary system may be made from the commodity itself (commodity money) or it may us ...
versus
Chartalism In macroeconomics, chartalism is a heterodox theory of money that argues that money originated historically with states' attempts to direct economic activity rather than as a spontaneous solution to the problems with barter or as a means with whi ...
in the Theory of Money''; Edward Elgar; Reprint edition: May 2003; * Kelton, Stephanie, ''The Deficit Myth'', June 2020;


See also

*
History of economic thought History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
*
Post-Keynesian economics Post-Keynesian economics is a school of economic thought with its origins in '' The General Theory'' of John Maynard Keynes, with subsequent development influenced to a large degree by Michał Kalecki, Joan Robinson, Nicholas Kaldor, Sidney ...
*
Heterodox economics Heterodox economics is any economic thought or theory that contrasts with orthodox schools of economic thought, or that may be beyond neoclassical economics.Frederic S. Lee, 2008. "heterodox economics," '' The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economic ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelton, Stephanie 1969 births 21st-century American economists Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge American women economists Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign California State University, Sacramento alumni Economists from New York (state) Living people Modern monetary theory scholars Post-Keynesian economists Public economists The New School alumni Stony Brook University faculty University of Missouri–Kansas City faculty 21st-century American women