D-Econ was present at the Annual American Social Science Association (ASSA) Meetings and International Confederation of Associations for Pluralism in Economics (ICAPE) Conference 2020 from Jan 3 to Jan 6 2020 in San Deigo, USA. The conferences were attended by several senior and junior scholars in Economics from across the world, particularly by those based in the USA.

D-Econ organised a round table discussion on “Diversity in Heterodox Economics: Radical Solution for an old Problem” at ICAPE 2020. The panelists for the round-table were Hanna Szymborska (Birmingham City University) [Chair], Devika Dutt (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), and Surbhi Kesar (Azim Premji University and South Asian University). It was an interactive round table, where several issues relating to the colonized nature of the discipline, and how lack of diversity is intimately related to this colonized nature, were discussed. Devika and Hanna talked about how these biases are perpetuated in the discipline and how D-Econ aims to be a movement to counter such biases. Surbhi briefly talked about how the process of knowledge creation is a political process and, as a part of that process, how Development Economics came to be a colonized discipline. The session was attended by several scholars, who shared their own experiences and insights on these issues. We collectively discussed how to challenge the prevalent sexism and racism in our profession and the colonial underpinnings of our discipline. We are grateful to the participants who encouraged our initiative and expressed a great deal of interest in being involved with D-Econ!

D-Econ was also invited to be a part of the panel on Pluralism in Economics, organised by the Young Scholars Initiative (YSI) of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET). As a part of the panel, Devika Dutt from D-Econ discussed how even pluralists and heterodox economists, while fighting the biases in Economics, often fall short of recognizing the works of women, scholars from/based in Global South. She stressed that a truly pluralist understanding of Economics necessitates the inclusion of these works and insights.

We sincerely thank the engaging audience at these sessions, whose interesting questions and comments have enriched our own understanding on these issues. At D-Econ, we ensure that we reflect on such insights in order to continue reinvigorating our mission!