Susan Helper is an American economist. She is the Frank Tracy Carlton Professor of

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

at the

Weatherhead School of Management The Weatherhead School of Management is a private business school of Case Western Reserve University located in Cleveland, Ohio. Weatherhead offers programs concentrated in sustainability, design innovation, healthcare, organizational behavior, g ...

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

Education

Helper received a Bachelors of Arts in economics, Government, and Spanish from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

and a PhD in economics from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Career

In 2021, Helper joined the Biden administration, first reprising her role as a Senior Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers for one year, and then serving as Senior Advisor for Industrial Strategy at the White House Office of Management and Budget for another year. In 2012–13, Helper was a Senior Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers in the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

. She then served as the Chief Economist of the

U.S. Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for gathering data for business and governmental decision making, establishing industrial standards, catalyzing econo ...

from 2013 to 2015. In addition to her position as a professor of economics at

, Helper is, or has been, a research associate at the

National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic co ...

, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

, a committee member of the National Academy of Sciences Panel on Manufacturing, a department editor for the Journal of Operations Management, and an editorial review board member for the

Strategic Management Journal The Strategic Management Society (SMS) is a professional society for the advancement of strategic management. The society consists of nearly 3,000 members representing various backgrounds and perspectives from more than eighty different countries ...

. She has been a visiting scholar at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

, and the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. Most of Helper's research focuses on the United States manufacturing system and ways in which it can be strengthened and revitalized, including bringing back industries that have moved overseas (

reshoring Offshoring is the relocation of a business process from one country to another—typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting. Usually this refers to a company business, although state gover ...

). While at the

, Helper encouraged corporations to consider all costs associated with producing goods overseas, rather than just the upfront costs, and analyzed ways to increase domestic innovation. In 2015, she contributed to the

report "Supply Chain Innovation: Strengthening America's Small Manufacturers", which analyzed the importance of reinvesting in America's supply chain, especially small manufacturers, and the barriers to innovation they currently face. More recently, her research has focused on the globalization of

supply chain A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distri ...

s and the effects they have regionally, with emphasis in the automotive industry in the United States, Mexico, and China.

Honors and accomplishments

In 2009, Helper received the Women of Achievement Award from the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women. Case Western Reserve University awards this honor biannually to women of the faculty, staff, and student body who have made a significant impact on their community with their "professional accomplishments, leadership, and service".

Publications

Helper has contributed works to journals such as the

American Economic Review The ''American Economic Review'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal first published by the American Economic Association in 1911. The current editor-in-chief is Erzo FP Luttmer, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College. The journal is ...

, the Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, and the

Journal of Law, Economics and Organization ''The Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization'' is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering law and economics. It was established in 1985 and is published by Oxford University Press. The founding editors were Oliver E. Williamson and ...

, among others. Her published works cover a diverse range of topics—from automotive supply chain innovation to international differences in productivity and employee attitudes.

References

External links

Staff page
at Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University
Staff page
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helper, Susan American economists American women economists Case Western Reserve University faculty Economists from Ohio Harvard University alumni Living people National Bureau of Economic Research Oberlin College alumni Writers from Cleveland Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women