Ex-Fed Economist Says Profession Is Racist, Sexist, Elitist

Watch: On this edition of "Bloomberg Equality," Michelle Holder, assistant professor of economist at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, discusses racial, ethnic and gender inequality in the U.S., and how the coronavirus outbreak is affecting the issues. (Source: Bloomberg)

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By Michelle Jamrisko and Catarina Saraiva

July 29, 2020 at 5:59 AM UTC

Updated on

July 29, 2020 at 9:35 PM UTC

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A former senior Federal Reserve economist levied a broad critique of her profession Wednesday, saying that racism, sexism and elitism have led to toxic work environments and bad policy advice.

“Economics is a disgrace,” said Claudia Sahm, now director of macroeconomic policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, in a blog post that ran to more than 6,000 words and called out some of the field’s most prominent academics.