Swiftynomics: Who’s Afraid of Women’s Economic Power? (with Misty Heggeness)

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: This episode explores Misty Heggeness’s book "Swiftynomics" and uses Taylor Swift as a lens to critique orthodox economics. The conversation argues that economics systematically ignores women’s labor, care work, culture, and non-monetized activity, and that better measurement, inclusive policy, and a middle-out view of growth would produce a fairer, more accurate economy.

Main Topics: Taylor Swift as an economic lens (Priority: 5/5): The hosts discuss Swift’s career as a way to explain how women create economic value, navigate male-dominated industries, and reveal blind spots in conventional economic thinking. Critique of orthodox economics and Homo economicus (Priority: 5/5): Heggeness argues that traditional models center a rational, male economic actor and exclude women, caregiving, and cultural behavior that shape real-world outcomes. Invisible labor and care privilege (Priority: 5/5): The episode introduces care privilege as the advantage of having others handle care responsibilities, showing how unpaid labor is assumed and thus undervalued in policy and labor markets. Culture, art, and innovation in the economy (Priority: 4/5): The discussion pushes back against the idea that art and culture are separate from the real economy, arguing they drive innovation, expectations, and social hierarchy. Policy, childcare, and public investment (Priority: 5/5): The conversation emphasizes universal childcare, time-use measurement, and community investment as necessary infrastructure for economic participation and shared prosperity. Gender, race, and inclusion in economics (Priority: 4/5): The speakers note that economics remains disproportionately white and male, and call for mainstreaming feminist economics and broadening who is represented in the field.

Key Arguments: Traditional economics is built around a male-centered model that omits women’s lived experiences and labor contributions. Women’s unpaid care work is economically real even when it is not captured in national accounts. Cultural production and art are not peripheral to the economy; they shape innovation, demand, and social norms. Care privilege helps explain why policymakers often fail to design effective family-support systems: many decision-makers do not experience caregiving burdens themselves. Universal childcare and similar supports are feasible public investments, not impossible budgetary fantasies, because governments already subsidize much larger rescues and infrastructure. The profession of economics would be more useful if it prioritized modeling what actually belongs in the model rather than overvaluing math for its own sake. Taylor Swift’s success is used as a case study to show how markets routinely underestimate girls’ and women’s preferences and economic power. A more inclusive economics would improve measurement, policy design, labor-market participation, and long-term shared prosperity.

Data Points: Taylor Swift age at early career pivot: 14 - She broke from a development contract and chose to write her own songs and shape her own career path. Episode framing of economics profession: 80% male (stated in discussion as approximate) - The hosts note the economics profession remains overwhelmingly male, especially at the full-professor level. Care and family context: 2 years older - Misty Heggeness notes she is a little older than Taylor Swift, underscoring generational comparison. World War II childcare example: 10–12 hour shifts - Heggeness describes women working long shifts while their children were cared for in high-quality wartime childcare programs. Class composition example: 3 guys and all women - Heggeness describes one section of her Economics Taylor Swift class to illustrate how a culturally relevant framing attracts more women to economics. Another class composition example: 5 girls and the rest guys - She contrasts her Taylor Swift-themed class with a traditional introductory microeconomics class next door. Public investment examples: 2 auto bailouts, 1 banking bailout, 1 airline bailout - Heggeness uses these examples to argue that society already funds large-scale rescues, so funding childcare is a matter of priorities.

Pivotal Quotes: "what if today's homo economicus is not a man, but rather a woman, or perhaps someone who identifies as non-binary?" — Misty Heggeness: A central challenge to the gendered assumptions embedded in standard economic models. "there's no consumer market of value for us and teenage girls" — Misty Heggeness: Used to illustrate how industries and economists underestimate women’s and girls’ purchasing power and cultural influence. "The purpose of studying economics is to learn how not to be deceived by economists." — Joan Robinson: Cited in the interview to critique how economics can obscure rather than clarify reality.

Implications: Listeners are urged to rethink what counts as economic value, support care infrastructure, and demand more inclusive policy and teaching. The episode suggests economics must broaden beyond markets and men to reflect real households, culture, and growth.