What a difference a year makes. At the time of the last newsletter, there was no way I would have imagined how much the world and the economy would change in the coming months. It’s been difficult. Many people have suffered illness, death, the loss of loved ones and jobs, and had their home and work lives turned upside down. The loss of the sacraments for two months was also difficult. I have found a personal silver lining, however, in the opportunity to spend more time with my family, especially before my oldest son goes off to college.
Just as the virus has impacted social life, work life, and the economy, it has impacted the operations of CREDO. The Economy of Francesco conference, which has at least a couple CREDO participants was postponed and the format changed. A conference in planning with the Lumen Christi Institute was shelved, and our summer seminar on Catholic social thought for economists was canceled.
We’ve had to think of new ways to engage people. The two webinars discussed in the front page article were part of this, and both had excellent levels of participation. There was and remains a lot to talk about in terms of economic policy, social policy, and Catholic values. Perhaps one of the blessings of the epidemic has been the move to zoom and virtual conferences that allow for much greater participation. Of course, the ability to engage with the same depth as a conference is limited, and it is difficult to know how many people are truly engaged, but the raw numbers are staggering: hundreds of people attending the live events and thousands watching the recordings.
This is an all COVID issue, and we have tried to engage more people by asking for volunteers over email. I think the newsletter a shows a wide variety of contributions, including our first contribution from a graduate student, Clara Jace! We have also added a commenting option on the website, where newsletter contributions are posted. We’d like to keep the conversation serious and collegial, so you need to have an account of sorts, but these are available upon request.
Although these all serve as opportunities to expand the discussion and broaden the reach of CREDO, the reality is that the contributions and panels have been narrow in other dimensions. Our panels and newsletter contributions are excellent, but the panels lacked anyone who was strongly in favor of the lockdown, which might be more representative of economists but clearly not as monolithically as the panel’s might suggest. CREDO does not espouse any particular agenda, and because of that as president, I try to be reserved in expressing my own opinions. We welcome a diversity of viewpoints, as that it the heart of any conversation. Moreover, CREDO is an international society, and the Catholic Church and the COVID-19 epidemic are both global. Yet among the group of panelists and contributions, all but two were Americans, and even those are stationed in the U.S.
Clearly, we have work to do in getting more people involved, but I want to stress that this is not by design. The invitation to contribute is for everyone, and CREDO can only grow to new people if we spread knowledge of it and broaden the conversation. If you have expertise, gifts, or ideas for initiatives, please volunteer. Webinars in particular are fairly easy to organize, advertise, and pull off. We will also have Board turnover in the coming months, so if you are willing to serve, let me know as well.
For the newsletter itself, the guidelines are to have an intellectual (rather than pure editorial) contribution and to have an angle of economics and/or Catholic social thought. Some level of integration is ideal. The length is typically around 500-750 words, which is something you can accomplish on a Sunday evening.
I do like the idea of the newsletter addressing timely topics, however. For the next issue, probably in December, I am especially requesting contributions focusing on the economics of race (relevant not just to the U.S. but other countries as well) and more takes on the coronavirus from outside the U.S., which I think will unfortunately still be relevant. Please feel free to propose any other contribution as well, however.
For any of this, please email contact@credo-economists.org.
Joseph Kaboski
David F. and Erin M. Seng Foundation
Professor of Economics,
University of Notre Dame
