Professors Elissa Braunstein and Ramaa Vasudevan will be featured speakers at the 5th Anniversary Conference of MADE (Macroeconomic Policy for Development), held August 21–22, 2025, at the University of São Paulo in Brazil. MADE has quickly established itself as a hub for innovative research on inequality and development, linking rigorous academic work with urgent public policy debates. Its anniversary celebration brings together prominent scholars, policymakers, and international organizations to reflect on the challenges of building more equitable and sustainable economies.

Professor Braunstein will contribute to the session “Macroeconomics: Alternatives for Growth with Distribution,” which focuses on inclusive strategies for fostering economic growth while reducing inequality. Drawing on her expertise in feminist and development economics, she will engage with colleagues from Brazil, Denmark, and the United States in rethinking macroeconomic policy around employment, equity, and care.

Professor Vasudevan will join the closing plenary, “Perspectives for the Economy and Democracy in a World in Crisis,” a wide-ranging discussion of the current moment, highligh

ting the contradictions and tensions at the intersection of democracy and capitalism,and the challenges of financial turbulence and social transformation. Professor Vasudevan will also present at the PERI-UNICAMP-IDEAs Conference on “Financing climate action in the South: The Scope for innovation” held Aug 27-29; State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil in a session on Blended Finance: Opportunity or Diversion.

Their participation highlights not only their own scholarly leadership but also CSU’s growing visibility in international conversations about how to reshape economic policy for amore just and democratic future.