Full-time Faculty

• Prospective Students
• Current Students
• Alumni
• Press

Susan Ariel Aaronson

Associate Research Professor of International Affairs

1957 E Street, NW Suite 501

Washington, D.C. 20052

Phone: (202) 994-7974
Fax: (202) 994-5477
E-mail: saaronso@gwu.edu
Homepage: http://www.tradeimbalance.net

Education:

Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University

Expertise:

International trade, business and human rights, business in conflict zones, economic growth and human rights, global corporate social responsibility

Background:

Susan Aaronson is Associate Research Professor of International Affairs at the George Washington University. She is also affiliated with the Institute for International Economic Policy and the Institute for Corporate Responsibility.

During the 2009-2010 academic year, she will serve as a Policy Research Scholar of the GW Institute of Public Policy. Dr. Aaronson is conducting research on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, a multisectoral partnership among resource rich nations, extractive industry firms, and NGOs. She is also consulting for the World Bank on free trade agreements and human rights.

Dr. Aaronson is a frequent speaker on public understanding of globalization issues. She was a regular commentator on "All Things Considered" in 1994-1995, "Marketplace" from 1995-1998, and "Morning Edition" from 1998-2001. She has also appeared on CNN, the BBC, and PBS to discuss trade and globalization issues. She is the author of 6 books and numerous articles on trade, investment, global corporate social responsibility, accountability, business and human rights and other globalization issues. Her books include Trade Imbalance: The Struggle to Weigh Human Rights in Trade Policymaking (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007), Trade and the American Dream and Taking Trade to the Streets: The Lost History of Public Efforts to Shape Globalization. Dr. Aaronson has also written two primers on trade -- "Trade is Everybody's Business," for high school students and "Are There Trade Offs When Americans Trade?" for adults. These books relate trade to citizens' daily lives and their many roles as citizens, producers, consumers, and friends of the earth.

Dr. Aaronson received her doctorate in economic history from Johns Hopkins University and a masters in international affairs from Columbia University. She has also been a Guest Scholar in Economics at the Brookings Institution (1995-1999).

Dr. Aaronson serves on the Advisory Board for Business-Human Rights (www.business-humanrights.org) and has been a pro-bono advisor to the UN Special Representative on Transnational Corporations and Human Rights, and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. In recent years, she has consulted for the ILO; Free the Slaves; the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative; and the Stanley Foundation as well as for various governments.

Courses Taught:

Hist 221 History of International Economic Systems
MBAd 260 Business and Public Policy
SMPP 290 NGO Strategy and Sustainability: Human Rights and Poverty NGOs

Last update: 8/25/2009