Title: A job guarantee: student ideas

Authors: Zdravka Todorova; Shannon Parisi; Patrick Lockhart; Brad Kerry; Jeremy A. Ocampo; Divya Sharma; James Curlis; Tristan Walters

Addresses: Raj Soin College of Business, Wright State University, Rike Hall, 1, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy, Dayton, OH 45435, USA ' Raj Soin College of Business, Wright State University, Rike Hall, 1, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy, Dayton, OH 45435, USA ' Raj Soin College of Business, Wright State University, Rike Hall, 1, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy, Dayton, OH 45435, USA ' Raj Soin College of Business, Wright State University, Rike Hall, 1, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy, Dayton, OH 45435, USA ' Raj Soin College of Business, Wright State University, Rike Hall, 1, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy, Dayton, OH 45435, USA ' Raj Soin College of Business, Wright State University, Rike Hall, 1, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy, Dayton, OH 45435, USA ' Raj Soin College of Business, Wright State University, Rike Hall, 1, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy, Dayton, OH 45435, USA ' Raj Soin College of Business, Wright State University, Rike Hall, 1, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy, Dayton, OH 45435, USA

Abstract: This paper presents students' ideas for job guarantee public service projects, developed in a master's level course, economic social and ecological systems. Seven student proposals address local issues and their economic, social, and ecological aspects. The proposals build on the concepts of social costs, stratification, and commodification; and identify locally needed public service jobs that are not provided by the business sector. As part of a federally funded, locally designed and administered job guarantee program, they expand and improve public and non-profit sectors. The article describes the course and its focus on integrated systems, as well as the pedagogy of building on students' interests, concerns, and knowledge. We urge that economics instructors incorporate the job guarantee challenge in their classes. We propose the compilation and sharing of student ideas to show the abundance of needs and ideas for public service and job guarantee projects.

Keywords: job guarantee; economic education; integrated systems pedagogy; institutional economics; social economics; social costs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPEE.2024.144145

International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, 2024 Vol.15 No.2, pp.104 - 124

Received: 20 Nov 2023
Accepted: 13 May 2024
Published online: 28 Jan 2025 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article