A National Economic Association Presidential Address by Dr. Nzinga Broussard
Sorenson Impact Institute Senior Director of Impact Measurement, Dr. Nzinga Broussard, served as the National Economic Association (NEA) President from February 2024 to January 2025. At the 2025 Allied Social Sciences Association Meetings, Dr. Broussard presented her presidential address, “The Practical Implications of Economic Research to Address Racial Inequities.”
In her presentation, Dr. Broussard shared her aim as NEA President to bridge the gap between academia and applied economic work and to promote economic opportunities and growth among people of color. Her address, crafted specifically to speak to junior economists and graduate students of color shaping their research agendas and careers, illustrates the applied work economists are doing outside of academia and how economists can influence the field of impact investing to multiply the positive outcomes of initiatives improving the lives of people of color.
Dr. Broussard highlights one of the NEA’s missions: “to produce and disseminate knowledge on economic issues that are of exceptional interest to promote economic growth among people of color.” While NEA members are doing important research in areas such as health, education, housing, digital services, and other social issues, she says it has been difficult to leverage that work in a way that is useful for the private sector. “While we economists have successfully incorporated policy implications into our research articles, we have yet to adequately include the practical implications and applications of our work.”
Dr. Broussard says NEA members and economists of color have a critical role to play in informing, influencing, and impacting research that can help illuminate solutions to important social challenges, especially those disproportionately impacting people of color. “We, as economists of color, bring unique perspectives and experiences that can further inform the effectiveness of solutions addressing social and environmental challenges,” Dr. Broussard said. “There is a need for NEA members and economists of color in particular to see our work as useful beyond just policy implications in order to fully address racial inequities.” Read Dr. Broussard’s article published in “The Review of Black Political Economy.”
Watch the full recording of Dr. Broussard’s address:
Watch Dr. Broussard’s address on Youtube here.
