Rakeen Mabud
Chief Economist and Managing Director of Policy and Research, Groundwork Collaborative
New York, NY
Experience
- U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Roosevelt Institute
- Time’s Up
Expertise
- Inflation, Federal Reserve policy, and the macroeconomy
- Labor market dynamics
- Economic disparities by race and gender
Education
- Ph.D., Harvard University
- B.A., Wellesley College
Recent Coverage
SEP 14, 2023
Michigan Advance: Consumers face higher car prices, lower inventory if auto workers strike
“Strong labor markets, fueled by large-scale public investments in the workers who keep our economy going, offer workers agency to stand up for better wages and working conditions and walk off the job when basic labor standards aren’t met,” stated Rakeen Mabud, chief economist at Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive economic advocacy nonprofit.
“ … A workforce that enjoys better working conditions, better pay, and increased worker agency adds up to a stronger economy for all of us.”
AUG 14, 2023
Fast Company | Did the Inflation Reduction Act actually help lower inflation?
But this time, just as inflation has declined, unemployment has also remained low, which is surprising. That’s proof that the IRA has been effective in lowering inflation, even in the short term, according to Rakeen Mabud, chief economist and managing director of policy and research at Groundwork Collaborative, a left-leaning economic activist group. “The Biden administration and Congress really appreciate that there is a false trade-off between lower unemployment and lower inflation,” she says. “Any of the good that we’re seeing in the economy is in spite of the Fed’s actions, rather than because of it.”
JUL 12, 2023
HuffPost | Inflation Report Raises A Startling Possibility: Washington Got COVID Right
Rakeen Mabud, chief economist with a group of liberal economics experts known as Groundwork Collaborative, said raising rates could roll back some of the gains made possible by historically low unemployment. “Two months of rising Black unemployment foreshadows disastrous consequences for our labor market if Chair Powell resumes rate hikes this month,” Mabud said. “The Fed should stand down before it causes any further damage to our economy.”
JUN 23, 2023
Vox | America’s upper middle-class gets a reality check
“It’s a tale as old as time: What happens with more marginalized people in our economy is so often the canary in the coal mine for what we end up seeing when a crisis hits the broader population,” said Rakeen Mabud, chief economist and managing director of policy and research at Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive think tank.
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About Rakeen
Dr. Rakeen Mabud is the Chief Economist and Managing Director of Policy and Research at the Groundwork Collaborative. A nationally respected policy expert, Rakeen is a leading thinker on the economy with a unique ability to communicate complex economic concepts in an accessible way. She played a key role in Groundwork’s pioneering effort to expose the role of corporate profiteering in inflation and serves as a leading policy expert and spokesperson on how economic trends impact people’s everyday lives, with a particular attention to structural disparities by race and gender.
Rakeen frequently testifies before Congress to help lawmakers understand how workers and small businesses are experiencing disruptions like inflation and the pandemic. In addition, she is a core member of Groundwork’s executive team, helping guide the organization’s strategy and managing its policy and research portfolio. She also serves as a board member for the National Employment Law Project (NELP).
Rakeen’s work is regularly published in many of the most prominent publications in the nation, and her views on how to ensure the economy works for all have been quoted in The New York Times, Washington Post, and NPR, among others.
Prior to joining Groundwork, Rakeen developed deep experience in economics and policy as a Special Assistant in the Office of Economic Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, serving as a Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, leading the research portfolio at Time’s Up Foundation, and conducting research at Harvard Business School. She holds a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University, and a B.A. from Wellesley College in Economics & Political Science.
