Economic Justice

People know the economy isn’t working, but not how it should work, or what we need to do to get there. Effective framing can turn passive unease into active support for economic justice.

In the 1980s, the conservative case for lower taxes was framed with a memorable metaphor: “trickle-down” economics. Four decades later, this frame is still with us.

The frames that are in play influence not just how people understand the economy, but the kinds of economic policies they support. If the economy is a pie, we have to slice it up. The topic quickly turns to who gets how much and who loses out. If it’s an invisible hand, best to leave it alone. But, FrameWorks research has found, if it’s a software program—we can see why and how we might reprogram it.

Language and ideas matter for major economic sectors, like housing, or contributors to economic wellbeing, like good neighborhoods and healthy, affordable food.

Explore how to frame a range of economic issues.

Featured Work

Where We Thrive

Neighborhood revitalization is essential to ensuring families of all backgrounds and zip codes can thrive. Too often, however, this work is invisible, devalued, or just misunderstood. It’s time...

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Navigating Cultural Mindsets of Race and Place in the United States

The places where we live shape our lives. Structural racism has shaped and continues to shape where and how Americans live.

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Framing the Economy

These are times of great danger but also of great possibility. For the first time in decades, there is a sense that the economic consensus is fracturing, that a change must and will come. A space...

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The Agrarian Myth Revisited: Findings from Cognitive Elicitations

This study helps advocates better understand how Americans think about rural issues - in order to make breakthroughs in raising public concern.