Economic Policy
The Joint Center’s Economic Policy Program identifies challenges and opportunities for advancing the economic status of Black communities. See below for research, analysis, and activities related to economic policy.
Pandemic Relief Priorities for Black Communities
By LaShonda Brenson Ph.D., Jessica Fulton, and Spencer Overton While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disproportionately harm Black communities in the United States, Congress and the Trump Administration have failed…
Sustain Black Businesses
Black businesses have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 26% decline in the number of active Black business owners between February and May 2020.1 The federal government’s…
Provide Financial Support for Black Workers
Black workers are over-represented in public transit, childcare and social services, health care, trucking, warehouse, and postal service, and many other frontline occupations deemed “essential.”1 Despite this work, Black communities…
Joint Center Vice President Joins Washington Center for Equitable Growth Panel on Economic Inequality
Joint Center Vice President Jessica Fulton joined a panel at a virtual convening co-hosted by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, the Ford Foundation, and the Omidyar Network. The panel,…
Investing in Black Economists and Centering Black Communities in Economic Policy
The pandemic and the killing of George Floyd and many others have highlighted racial inequity. Even if we develop a vaccine soon and enact effective policing reform, however, systemic challenges…
Joint Center Vice President Discusses COVID-19’s Impact on Black Communities on the ‘Sustaining Capitalism’ Podcast
Joint Center Vice President Jessica Fulton joined The Committee for Economic Development and The Conference Board’s podcast, Sustaining Capitalism, to discuss COVID-19’s impact on Black communities. On the podcast, Jessica…
Joint Center Vice President Quoted in The Center for Public Integrity’s Analysis on George Floyd, COVID-19, and ‘Inequality Stealing Black Lives’
Joint Center Vice President Jessica Fulton was quoted in The Center for Public Integrity’s analysis on the murder of George Floyd, the coronavirus, and “inequality stealing Black lives.” “What’s happened…
Joint Center Vice President Speaks to TIME Magazine About The Significant Barriers Black Businesses Are Facing During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Joint Center Vice President Jessica Fulton spoke to TIME Magazine about how Black businesses are facing significant barriers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.e Several Black businesses weren’t able to take advantage…
The Impact of the HEROES Act on Black Communities
Last Friday, U.S. House Democrats passed a $3 trillion bill to address economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic—the HEROES Act. Economic Support for Individuals: African American unemployment more than doubled…
Joint Center Briefing on Black Businesses, Access to Capital, and Future Stimulus Proposals
On Thursday, May 14, the Joint Center hosted an online briefing on fair and equal access to capital for Black businesses in COVID-19 stimulus legislation. The briefing addressed the structural…