Susan Helper

As an undergraduate, Helper received a Bachelors of Arts in Economics, Government, and Spanish from Oberlin College.[2] She then earned a PhD in Economics at Harvard University.[1]

In 2012-13, Helper was the Senior Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers.[1] She served as the Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2013-15 under the Obama administration.[1] Helper is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution,[1] a committee member of the National Academy of Sciences Panel on Manufacturing, and an editorial review board member for the Strategic Management Journal.[2] She has been to the University of Oxford, the University of California, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a visiting scholar.[2] She is currently the Carlton Professor of Economics at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, and resides in Cleveland.[1]

Most of Helper's works and research revolves around the strength of United States manufacturing system, the ways in which it can be revitalized, and the concept of 'reshoring'.[3] While with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Helper's focus in this area worked with corporations to display all factors associated with producing goods overseas, rather than just the upfront costs; in order to emphasize the ripple effects associated with modern manufacturing and encourage domestic innovation.[4] In 2015, she contributed to the U.S. Department of Commerce 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.[5] In addition, she has recently focused her research on the globalization of supply chains and the effects they have regionally, with emphasis in the automotive industry in the United States, Mexico and China.[3]

In 2009, Helper received the Women of Achievement Award from the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women.[2] 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".[6]

Helper has contributed works to forums such as the American Economic Review, the Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, and the Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, among others.[7] In addition to being published in an array of such credible forums, the content of her published works covers an equally diverse range of topics—from automotive supply chain innovation to international differences in productivity and employee attitudes, and more.[8]

• Staff page at Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University
• Staff page at the National Bureau of Economic Research