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George F. DeMartino

Professor

Degree Co-Director, Global Economic Affairs

George F. DeMartino, Professor and Co-Director of the MA degree in Global Economic Affairs. Dr. DeMartino is a political economist whose research focuses on the intersection of ethics and economics with particular emphasis on the limits to knowledge in economic science. He is president of the Association for Economic and Social Analysis, past president of the Association for Social Economics and a board member of the Association for Integrity and Responsible Leadership in Economics and Associated Professions.

His recent books include The Tragic Science: How Economists Cause Harm (even as they aspire to do good), University of Chicago Press; The Economist's Oath (Oxford University Press); and the Oxford Handbook of Professional Economic Ethics, co-edited with Deirdre N. McCloskey. In earlier work, such as his book Global Economy, Global Justice (Routledge), he explored the ethical dimensions of global neoliberalism. His work has been reviewed widely, including in the New York Review of Books and the Journal of Economic Literature, and cited in outlets such as the New York Times, the Economist, and other leading outlets around the world. He has been invited to lecture on his work widely, including at the World Economic Forum in Davos; and he has also served on a research group on ethics and public policy for the World Economic Forum. Prior to entering academia, Dr. DeMartino served as a union organizer, negotiator, and researcher for AFSCME, AFL-CIO for over a decade.

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  • Professional Affiliations

    Sié Center

    Global Economic Affairs

  • Books

    Global Economy, Global Justice (Routledge)

    The Tragic Science: How Economists Cause Harm (even as they aspire to do good), University of Chicago Press

    The Economist's Oath: On the Need for and Conte (Oxford University Press)

    Oxford Handbook of Professional Economic Ethics, co-edited with Deirdre N. McCloskey.

  • Selected Publications

    2025. “Should Economists Deceive? Prosocial Lying, Paternalism, and the ‘Ben Bernanke Problem,’” in Speaking Science to Power: Responsible Researchers and Policymaking, Oxford University Press, Oliver Kaplan and Rachel Epstein, eds.

    2025. DeMartino, G. F., & Grabel, I. What was “it” that Colander was defining? The Journal of Economic Education, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220485.2025.2498336

    2024. "The Ethics of Engaged Scholarship in a Complex World," with Debbi Avant, Naazneen Barma, and Ilene Grabel." International Affairs 100: 1 (2024) 159-180; doi: 10.1093/ia/iiad292

    2023. "Economics for an uncertain world," with Ilene Grabel and Ian Scoones. World Development, 2024, vol. 173, issue C. (open access)

    2023. "The Perils of Expert Privilege: Analyzing, understanding, and re-imaging power and privilege in university-community-societal relations," with Sarah Stanlick and Sharon Welch. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement. Vol. 27, No. 3.

    2023. "Teaching Economic Harm to Economists, in Three Diagrams," in the Handbook on Teaching Ethics to Economists, Craig Duckworth, Imko Meyenburg, and Ioana Negru eds. Edward Elgar.

    2021. The specter of irreparable ignorance: counterfactuals and causality in economics. Review of Evolutionary Political Economy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43253-020-00029-w

    2020. DeMartino, George and Deirdre N. McCloskey. "Conversation with Deirdre McCloskey: Win-win-win-win... lose," Journal of Contextual Economics - Schmollers Jahrbuch 140 (3-4): 367-386.

    2020. "Irreparable ignorance, protean power, and economics," with Ilene Grabel, International Theory 12(3): 435-448. doi:10.1017/S1752971920000263

    2020. "Control in Crisis: A Discussion of COVID-19 and the Futility of Control in the Modern World, by Andy Stirling and Ian Scoones," with Ilene J. Grabel. Issues in Science and Technology, 37(1). https://issues.org/control-in-crisis-scoones-stirling-forum/#forum-responseblock_5f7cea4adeb8f

    2020. "The confounding problem of the counterfactual in economic explanation." Review of Social Economy, DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2020.1735649

    2019. "The Tragedy of Economics: On the Nature of Economic Harm and the Responsibilities of Economists." In Mark D. White (ed), The Oxford Handbook of Ethics and Economics, DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198793991.013.29

    2019. "Training the Ethical Economist." In I. Negru and W. Dolfsma, eds. The Ethical Formation of Economists. SCEME Studies in Economic Methodology. New York: Routledge, 7-23.

    2019. "Free Trade or Social Tariffs?" The Handbook of Globalisation, Jonathan Michie, editor, Northampton, Massachusetts, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 402-412. (Updated for 2019 edition; first edition, 2003).

    2018. "Econogenic Harm and the Case for 'Economy Harm Profile' Analysis." New Political Economy, DOI: 10.1080/13563467.2018.1526265

    2018. "Editor's Introduction," Special issue on "The Democratic Crisis and the Responsibility of Economists." Forum for Social Economics 47(2): 153-157. (Served as editor for this special issue of the journal)

    2018. "Reconstructing Globalization in an Illiberal Era." Ethics and International Affairs, 32 (3):361. DOI: 10.1017/S0892679418000515

    2018. "Professional Ethics 101: A Reply to Anne Krueger's Review of The Oxford Handbook of Professional Economic Ethics," with Deirdre N. McCloskey, Econ Journal Watch, 15, 1.

    2018. "Overdetermination: The Ethical Moment." In T. Burczak, R. Garnett, and R. McIntyre, eds. Knowledge, Class, and Economics. New York: Routledge, pp. 226-242.

  • In Press

    “Diverse Economies, Diverse Utopias.” With Ilene Grabel. Rethinking Marxism. In press.

  • University Lecturer, University of Denver.

  • Thomas F. Divine Award, Association for Social Economics. "Presented annually to someone who over a lifetime has made important contributions to social economics and the social economy."

  • Ludwig Mai Service Award, Association for Social Economics. "Presented periodically to a person who has rendered exceptional service to the Association.

  • "Top Professor," Mortar Board Honor Society, University of Denver, teaching award for "Outstanding Direction in the Classroom".

  • "Faculty Career Champion," multiple years (most recently, 2024)

  • "Most Useful Course", awarded by Graduate Student Government.

  • "Most Accessible Professor," awarded by Graduate Student Government.

  • "Chair's Award for Distinguished Teaching," University of Massachusetts.

  • Great Books in Political Economy (Graduate)

  • International Trade (Graduate)

  • Professional Ethics and International Affairs (Graduate)

  • Introduction to Global Economic Issues (Undergraduate)

  • Harm in International Affairs (Undergraduate)

  • Great Books in Political Economy (Undergraduate)

  • Professional Ethics and International Affairs (Undergraduate)

  • Ph.D., Economics, University of Massachusetts, 1992

  • M.A., Comparative Industrial Relations, Warwick University, 1982

  • B.A., History and Economics (Magna Cum Laude), Harvard University, 1978

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