Brenda Spotton Visano
Department of Economics
School of Public Policy and Administration
Professor
University Professor
Office: McLaughlin College, 130
Email: spotton@yorku.ca
Primary website: http://www.yorku.ca/spotton
Attached CV
Brenda Spotton Visano is a distinguished University Professor in Economics and Public Policy. Her widely published interdisciplinary scholarship advances a heterodox perspective on macroeconomics and microfinance. She is a member of the Graduate Programs in Economics, Interdisciplinary Studies, Public Policy Administration & Law, Social & Political Thought, and Sociology. Dr. Spotton Visano routinely consults for agencies of the Canadian Federal Government, First Nations organizations, the not-for-profit sector, and labour organizations. She is a member of the national Consumer Protection Advisory Committee of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, a Steering Committee Member of the Progressive Economics Forum, and former President of the Canadian Women Economists Network. Her research, teaching, and university service have been honoured with national, provincial and university level awards recognizing her contributions.
Dr. Spotton Visano's passion for promoting access and diversity in theories, practices and the professions of economics and finance lies at the core of all her scholarly and professional engagements. She has received over $600K in research funding, including two SSHRC Public Outreach grants for advancing a wider understanding of community-based finance and microcredit success for community economic development. Among her many publications is her recent book co-authored with Jerry Buckland Financial Vulnerability in Canada. Previous books include her co-edited book Payday Lending in Canada in a Global Context (with Jerry Buckland and Chris Robinson, 2018), her 2006 sole-authored book Financial Crises: Socio-economic Causes and Institutional Context examining the susceptibility of financial systems to periodic collapse, and her co-edited book Room to Grow: Celebrating Atkinson’s Living Legacy (with Kristin Taylor), a collection of reflections on the contributions of Atkinson College to advancing higher education for non-traditional students. In addition to publishing numerous scholarly articles in academic journals and books, she is the author of several reports for various government ministries and agencies in Canada, UNESCO and NGOs.
As President of the Canadian Women’s Association Network in 2001, she spearheaded with 4 colleagues the first ever survey of women economists in Canada to raise awareness of the gender imbalance in the economics profession. She is a former Director of the ACCESS Community Capital Fund – now a successful Toronto-wide microcredit fund. She has served as Chair of the University Senate and was for many years the Director of the Transition Year Program at York University – an access program bridging non-traditional students into university. Dr. Spotton Visano was chair and chief spokesperson for a 7-union coalition of more than 4000 active members of the University Pension Plan negotiating changes needed to restore the plan to solvency and has been the union’s chief negotiator for 4 Collective Agreements between the York University Board of Governors and more than 1500 full-time faculty and librarians.
Dr. Spotton Visano is the recipient of many awards including the Canadian Association of University Teachers Award for Dedicated Service, the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations Status of Women Award of Distinction and its Award for Teaching Excellence.
Degrees
PhD, McGill UniversityProfessional Leadership
Current:
National Steering Committee Member, Progressive Economics Forum
National Consumer Protection Advisory Committee of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
Previous:
Council of Ontario Academic colleague
Managing Editor, Journal of Economic Asymmetries
President, Canadian Women Economists Network
Chair/Vice Chair, York University Senate
Chief Negotiator: YUFA/Collective Agreement; York University Pension Group/pension reform
Community Contributions
Member, Black Creek Financial Action Network
Economist, Ontario Special Study/First Nations Chiefs of Ontario
Economist, High-cost Special Education Review/Assembly of First Nations
Economist, ACORN Study of Online High-cost Credit
Research Interests
- Status of Women Award of Distinction, Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations - 2012
- University Professor - 2010
- Award for Dedicated Service, Canadian Association of University Teachers - 2004
- Award for Teaching Excellence, Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations - 2000
- University-wide Teaching Award - 2001
Current Research Projects
-
Summary:
“Including Us All” is a research and outreach project that seeks to increase financial inclusion by expanding the capacity of local community groups in inner-city, low-income communities, mainstream and alternative financial industry stakeholders, and government policy makers in Canada to understand and use research about financial education and financial services on the “fringe” of the Canadian financial services industry, including micro-credit programs, payday and other high-cost consumer loans.
Description:The York University Community Finance Project (YUCFP) is a community-based research project that explores issues related to consumer financial services. Our principal research question is: how do we ensure that all Canadian financial consumers have access to “a range of quality financial services at affordable prices, with convenience, dignity, and consumer protections, delivered by a range of providers in a stable, competitive market to financially capable clients” (Center for Financial Inclusion of ACCION)? Foregrounding social justice, we strive to uncover and develop best policies and practices around "Community Based Finance for Community Capacity Building." We bring a critical theoretical perspective to projects in financial inclusion, micro-finance and alternative consumer financial services, digital consumer financial innovation and consumer financial protection. Research projects benefit from the wisdom of our community partners, the creative energy of our students and the public's funding of research in Canada. For more information, please visit Community Finance Project's webpage at www.yorku.ca/yucfp
Collaborator Institution: Black Creek Financial Action Network (cec.info.yorku.ca/bcfan/)
Funders:
SSHRC-Public Outreach Grant
SSHRC-Public Outreach Grant
Faculty of LA&PS-GCE Grant
Prosper Canada/PEACH (Promoting Education and Community Health)
Buckland, J., & Spotton Visano, B. (2022). Financial Vulnerability in Canada - The Embedded Experience of Households. Palgrave Macmillan, Springer Books.
Buckland, Jerry, Chris Robinson and Brenda Spotton Visano, eds. Payday Lending in Canada in a Global Context: A Mature Industry with Chronic Challenges London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018 Available online
Room to Grow: Celebrating Atkinson’s Living Legacy Eds. Brenda Spotton Visano and Kristin Taylor, Toronto Canada: York University, 2009. ISBN: 978-1-55014-508-3 (205pp)
Spotton Visano, Brenda Financial Crises: Socio-economic Causes and Institutional Context London & New York: Routledge.2006 ISBN: 0-41536-2873 Available online
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Mainstream Financial Institution Alternatives to the Payday Loan” Ch. 6 in Jerry Buckland, Chris Robinson and Brenda Spotton Visano, eds. Payday Lending in Canada in a Global Context: A Mature Industry with Chronic Challenges London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018 Available online "Introduction" (Ch. 1 with Jerry Buckland) and "Conclusion" (Ch. 8 with Jerry Buckland and Chris Robinson)
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Debt Crises” and "Currency Crises" Encyclopedia on Central Banking Eds. Louis-Philippe Rochon and Sergio Rossi, London: Edward Elgar, 2015
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Causes and Consequences [of Booms and Busts]” and “Financial Fragility” in Booms and Busts: An Encyclopedia of Economic History from Tulipmania of the 1630's to the Global Financial Crisis of the 21st Century Ed. James Ciment,2010
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Banking Industry” (pp.250-4); "Speculation" (pp.54-5); "Panics" (pp.124-5) and "Great Tulip Mania" (p.375) International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences 2nd ed., 9 vols. Ed. William A. Darity Jr. (Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008)
"Financial Crises, Crashes, and Speculative Bubbles: The Regulation Imperative in a Critique of Recent Episodes" in Global Political Economy and the Wealth of Nations: Performance Institutions, Problems and Policies. Ed. P. O'Hara (London & New York: Routledge, 2004 ) pp. 225-244.
Rowley, R. and B. Spotton Visano "Monetary Dialogue and Dogma in the Bank of Canada: Inside Evidence Revisited" (Rowley, R. and B. Spotton Visano) Central Banking in the Modern World: Alternative Perspectives Eds. M. Lavoie and M. Seccareccia (Cheltenham, U.K Edward Elgar, 2004) pp. 91-111.
"Macroeconomic Perspectives" (B. Spotton Visano, S. Ladner, A. Tabussum, and X. Zhang), Chapter 6 of Monitoring the Digital Divide... and Beyond Ed. G. Sciadas (Orbicom: UNESCO and Universite du Quebec a Montreal, 2003) pp. 83-88.
"Monetary Dialogue and Dogma in the Bank of Canada: Inside Evidence Revisited" (R. Rowley and B. Spotton Visano) Central Banking in the Modern World: Alternative Perspectives Eds. M. Lavoie and M. Seccareccia (Cheltenham, U.K Edward Elgar, 2004) pp. 91-111.
"Electronic Payments and Exchange Rate Regimes: Industry Changes and the Question of a Single North American Currency" Dollarization: Lessons from Europe for the Americas Eds. L.P. Rochon and M. Seccareccia (London & New York: Routledge, 2003) pp. 116-128.
"Margaret Myers" Biographical Dictionary of Women Economists Eds. R. Dimand, M.A. Dimand, and E. Forget. (London: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2000) pp. 320-322
Brzozowski, M., & Visano, B. Spotton (2023). Canadian Consumer Financial Vulnerability, Stress, and Well-Being. Canadian Public Policy, 49(2), 114-135.
Brzozowski, M., Spotton Visano, B. “Havin’ Money’s Not Everything, Not Havin’ It Is”: The Importance of Financial Satisfaction for Life Satisfaction in Financially Stressed Households. J Happiness Studies 21, 573–591 (2020).
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Gendering Post-Keynesian Macroeconomics with Situated Knowledge” Review of Radical Political Economics v.49 n.4 (2017): 567-573. Available online
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Defying the Dominant Discourse: Why contesting Neoliberalism needs Critical Pedagogy in Economics Education" Critical Studies in Education Available online
Britto, Neil and Brenda Spotton Visano “Building community capacity: Self-assessment performance metrics for Canadian microcredit programs,” Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation 2018 v.33 n.1
Spotton Visano, Brenda “From Challenging the Text to Constructing It in a Large Economics Classroom: Revealing the not-so-common sense of the capitalist mode of production” Review of Radical Political Economics Available online
Spotton Visano, Brenda & Imo Ek-Udofia "Inclusive financial literacy education for inspiring a critical financial consciousness: an experiment in partnership with marginalised youth." International Journal of Inclusive Education 21.7 (2017): 763-774. Available online
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Gendering Social Location in a Post-Keynesian Theory of Financial Crises” Studies in Political Economy 97(1) (2016): 95-103. Available online
Ahmed Allahwala, Susannah Bunce , Lesley Beagrie , Shauna Brail , Timothy Hawthorne , Sue Levesque, Jürgen von Mahs & Brenda Spotton Visano, (2013) Building and Sustaining Community-University Partnerships in Marginalized Urban Areas Journal of Geography, 112:2, 43-57 Available online
Stephen Chen, Brenda Spotton Visano, Michael Lui, Chaohui Lu “Evidence of Social Referencing Behaviour during Market Bubbles” IAENG International Journal of Computer Science, 2010. Volume 37 Issue 4, Pages 359-366 London, U.K Available online
S. Chen, J. Tien, and B. Spotton Visano “A Hybrid Multi-agent Model for Financial Markets” In: Nguyen N.T., Borzemski L., Grzech A., Ali M. (eds) New Frontiers in Applied Artificial Intelligence of Lecture Notes in Computer Science IEA/AIE vol 5027, pp. 531–540. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg Available online
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Different and Unequal: Payday Loans and Microcredit in Canada” Journal of Economic Asymmetries 2008 Vol.5 No.1, 109-123
"Introducing Social Investors into Multi-Agent Models of Financial Markets" (S. Chen,B. Spotton Visano and Y. Kong) Lecture Notes in Computer Science. 2006. 4031: 44-53.
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Financial Manias and Panics: A Socioeconomic Perspective” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 2002 61(4): 801-822. Excerpted and Translated 2003. «Bulles et paniques financières : une perspective socio-economique » in Problèmes Economiques No 2385 Mer 10 (Dec): 7-14
"Efficient Markets, Fundamentals, and Crashes: American Theories of Financial Crises and Market Volatility" (Spotton, B. and R. Rowley)American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 1998, 57(4): 663-690.
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Tensions between Consumer Financial Protection and Consumer Financial Responsibility” Presented to the Progressive Economics Association and the Canadian Economics Association 2016
“Assessing Microcredit Program Success for Community Economic Development in Canada” (Brenda Spotton Visano with Neil Britto) Canadian Economics Association, 2014
“Bridging Process and Outcomes: Assessing the Non-financial Performance of Canadian Microcredit Programs” (Neil Britto and Brenda Spotton Visano) Canadian Evaluation Society’s Annual Conference, 2012
"Confronting uncertainty: the fragility of financial institutions in structuring social interaction" (Spotton Visano, Brenda and Gervan Fearon) Session: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Economic Issues; Presented to the Progressive Economics Forum and Canadian Economics Association, Vancouver Canada, 2007.
"Who Bears the Burden? An Appraisal of the Socio-economic Impact of the Indonesian Crisis" (Spotton Visano, Brenda and Beatriz Cid) Presented to the Canadian Women Economists Network and Canadian Economics Association, Halifax Canada, 2007
"The Evolution of Financial Crises: Towards a Structural-Functional Analysis of Systemic Fragility" Presented at "Asymmetries in Trade and Currency Arrangements in the 21rst Century" hosted by and at the Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt Germany and by the Athenian Policy Forum, 2004
"A Research Agenda for the Information Society" (Brenda Spotton Visano and George Sciadas) Presented to the Canadian Economics Association. Ottawa Canada, 2003.
"Financial Instability Revisited: Recent Experience with Innovation and Institutional Change" Presented to the Progressive Economics Forum and the Canadian Economics Association Ottawa, 2003.
"Electronic Finance and Exchange Rate Regimes: Industry Changes and the Question of a Single North American Currency" International Council for Canadian Studies Conference on "Monetary and Financial Integration: Lessons from Europe for the Americas. The Debate over the Common Currency" Ottawa, 2000.
"The Increasing Fragility of Western Financial Capital Markets: The Impact of Information Communications Technologies on the Industry and its Stability." Presented to the Progressive Economics Forum and Canadian Economics Association, Vancouver Canada, 2000.
"Electronic Banking Implications for National Monetary Policy in a Global Financial Context." Presented at the Conference on Asymmetries in Financial Globalization, Loyola University, Chicago, USA, 1999.
“Quantitative Results for a Qualitative Investor Model – A Hybrid Multi-Agent Model with Social Investors” (Stephen Chen, Brenda Spotton Visano, and Michael Lui) Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2010 Vol I WCE 2010, June 30 - July 2, 2010, London, U.K. (Awarded a Certificate of Merit) On line at http://www.iaeng.org/publication/WCE2010/WCE2010_pp390-394.pdf
Andrea Medovarski, Leslie Sanders, Brenda Spotton Visano, “Is there a Best Fit? Assessing Alternative Entrance Pathways into an Undergraduate Degree for Non-Traditional Students at York University” Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, 2015, 47 pps. plus Appendixes Available online
“Report of the Working Group on Evening/Weekend Education at York University” full and abridged versions. Carolyn Edgecombe, Leslie Sanders, Brenda Spotton Visano 2009,72pps. Available electronically at the Atkinson Centre for Mature and Part-time Students website http://www.yorku.ca/acmaps/research.html
"Analysis of Prices and Quantities of Global Cellular and Telephone Data" (X. Zhang and B. Spotton Visano) Submitted to Orbicom (UNESCO and Universite du Quebec a Montreal, 2003) Pp.10
Report of the Special Committee to Examine the Status of Women Economists in Canada. 2001. (Brenda Spotton Visano, Martin Dooley, Nicole Fortin, Nancy Gallini, and Frances Woolley) . Special Committee of the Canadian Women Economists Network and the Canadian Economics Association, Pp.60 Submitted to the Canadian Women Economists Network and the Canadian Economics Association
"Electronic Money and Electronic Financial Transactions" Prepared under contract for and submitted to Statistics Canada, Part of the Telecommunications Statistical Infrastructure and Economic Analysis Program funded by the Telecommunications Policy Branch of Industry Canada, 1998 Pp.30.
Brenda Spotton Visano, "Rooted in Rock: The Entrenched Dominance of Mainstream Economics" The Pedagogical Consequences of the Crisis. Progressive Economics Forum Summer Workshop (2016)
Brenda Spotton Visano, “Resolving Crises: One More Chance to get it Right…by going Left” Crisis and Opportunity: It's Time for a Progressive Economy, Parkland Institute, 2009.
Brenda Spotton Visano, “The Evolution of Financial Crises: Towards a Structural-Functional Analysis of Systemic Fragility” Presented at Asymmetries in Trade and Currency Arrangements in the 21rst Century, Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt Germany and Athenian Policy Forum, 2004
Brenda Spotton Visano, “Capital, Community and Conscience” Keynote Address, New Social Contracts for Human Security, International Conference on Human Security, Narsuan University, Thailand, 2003
Book Review of Brenda Spotton Visano Financial Crises..., by Hans G. Despain, Review of Radical Political Economics June 2014, 46: 252-257 Available online
“Evaluating Small Canadian Microcredit Programs – Proposed Indicators for the Social Performance Evaluation of Canadian Microcredit Programs and ACCESS Community Capital Fund” Neil Britto and Brenda Spotton Visano submitted to ACCESS Community Capital Fund, 2012
Approach to Teaching
As a discipline, economics could be a broad intellectual study of our material relations – how we might organize ourselves to produce and distribute goods and services for nurturing our material well-being. Economics as currently practiced is, instead, most often only about how neoclassical economics governs that organization.
In my teaching I look to return authentic pluralism to the economics classroom in a way that encourages students’ appreciation for a richer set of perspectives on our material relations. By opening the door to broader theoretical conceptions of our material relations and the politics of difference, engaged pedagogy animates pluralist economic content. Pluralist content admits, in turn, heterodox variants of economic policy analysis.
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | GS/PPAL6230 3.0 | A | Topics in Public Policy | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/POLS3300 6.0 | A | Statistics for Social Sciences | ONLN |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/POLS3300 6.0 | A | Statistics for Social Sciences | ONLN |
| Winter 2025 | GS/PPAL6200 3.0 | N | Research Methods and Information Systems | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | GS/PPAL6230 3.0 | A | Topics in Public Policy | SEMR |
Brenda Spotton Visano is a distinguished University Professor in Economics and Public Policy. Her widely published interdisciplinary scholarship advances a heterodox perspective on macroeconomics and microfinance. She is a member of the Graduate Programs in Economics, Interdisciplinary Studies, Public Policy Administration & Law, Social & Political Thought, and Sociology. Dr. Spotton Visano routinely consults for agencies of the Canadian Federal Government, First Nations organizations, the not-for-profit sector, and labour organizations. She is a member of the national Consumer Protection Advisory Committee of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, a Steering Committee Member of the Progressive Economics Forum, and former President of the Canadian Women Economists Network. Her research, teaching, and university service have been honoured with national, provincial and university level awards recognizing her contributions.
Dr. Spotton Visano's passion for promoting access and diversity in theories, practices and the professions of economics and finance lies at the core of all her scholarly and professional engagements. She has received over $600K in research funding, including two SSHRC Public Outreach grants for advancing a wider understanding of community-based finance and microcredit success for community economic development. Among her many publications is her recent book co-authored with Jerry Buckland Financial Vulnerability in Canada. Previous books include her co-edited book Payday Lending in Canada in a Global Context (with Jerry Buckland and Chris Robinson, 2018), her 2006 sole-authored book Financial Crises: Socio-economic Causes and Institutional Context examining the susceptibility of financial systems to periodic collapse, and her co-edited book Room to Grow: Celebrating Atkinson’s Living Legacy (with Kristin Taylor), a collection of reflections on the contributions of Atkinson College to advancing higher education for non-traditional students. In addition to publishing numerous scholarly articles in academic journals and books, she is the author of several reports for various government ministries and agencies in Canada, UNESCO and NGOs.
As President of the Canadian Women’s Association Network in 2001, she spearheaded with 4 colleagues the first ever survey of women economists in Canada to raise awareness of the gender imbalance in the economics profession. She is a former Director of the ACCESS Community Capital Fund – now a successful Toronto-wide microcredit fund. She has served as Chair of the University Senate and was for many years the Director of the Transition Year Program at York University – an access program bridging non-traditional students into university. Dr. Spotton Visano was chair and chief spokesperson for a 7-union coalition of more than 4000 active members of the University Pension Plan negotiating changes needed to restore the plan to solvency and has been the union’s chief negotiator for 4 Collective Agreements between the York University Board of Governors and more than 1500 full-time faculty and librarians.
Dr. Spotton Visano is the recipient of many awards including the Canadian Association of University Teachers Award for Dedicated Service, the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations Status of Women Award of Distinction and its Award for Teaching Excellence.
Degrees
PhD, McGill UniversityProfessional Leadership
Current:
National Steering Committee Member, Progressive Economics Forum
National Consumer Protection Advisory Committee of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
Previous:
Council of Ontario Academic colleague
Managing Editor, Journal of Economic Asymmetries
President, Canadian Women Economists Network
Chair/Vice Chair, York University Senate
Chief Negotiator: YUFA/Collective Agreement; York University Pension Group/pension reform
Community Contributions
Member, Black Creek Financial Action Network
Economist, Ontario Special Study/First Nations Chiefs of Ontario
Economist, High-cost Special Education Review/Assembly of First Nations
Economist, ACORN Study of Online High-cost Credit
Research Interests
Awards
- Status of Women Award of Distinction, Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations - 2012
- University Professor - 2010
- Award for Dedicated Service, Canadian Association of University Teachers - 2004
- Award for Teaching Excellence, Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations - 2000
- University-wide Teaching Award - 2001
Current Research Projects
-
Summary:
“Including Us All” is a research and outreach project that seeks to increase financial inclusion by expanding the capacity of local community groups in inner-city, low-income communities, mainstream and alternative financial industry stakeholders, and government policy makers in Canada to understand and use research about financial education and financial services on the “fringe” of the Canadian financial services industry, including micro-credit programs, payday and other high-cost consumer loans.
Description:The York University Community Finance Project (YUCFP) is a community-based research project that explores issues related to consumer financial services. Our principal research question is: how do we ensure that all Canadian financial consumers have access to “a range of quality financial services at affordable prices, with convenience, dignity, and consumer protections, delivered by a range of providers in a stable, competitive market to financially capable clients” (Center for Financial Inclusion of ACCION)? Foregrounding social justice, we strive to uncover and develop best policies and practices around "Community Based Finance for Community Capacity Building." We bring a critical theoretical perspective to projects in financial inclusion, micro-finance and alternative consumer financial services, digital consumer financial innovation and consumer financial protection. Research projects benefit from the wisdom of our community partners, the creative energy of our students and the public's funding of research in Canada. For more information, please visit Community Finance Project's webpage at www.yorku.ca/yucfp
Project Type: FundedRole: Principal Investigator
Collaborator Institution: Black Creek Financial Action Network (cec.info.yorku.ca/bcfan/)
Funders:
SSHRC-Public Outreach Grant
SSHRC-Public Outreach Grant
Faculty of LA&PS-GCE Grant
Prosper Canada/PEACH (Promoting Education and Community Health)
All Publications
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Mainstream Financial Institution Alternatives to the Payday Loan” Ch. 6 in Jerry Buckland, Chris Robinson and Brenda Spotton Visano, eds. Payday Lending in Canada in a Global Context: A Mature Industry with Chronic Challenges London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018 Available online "Introduction" (Ch. 1 with Jerry Buckland) and "Conclusion" (Ch. 8 with Jerry Buckland and Chris Robinson)
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Debt Crises” and "Currency Crises" Encyclopedia on Central Banking Eds. Louis-Philippe Rochon and Sergio Rossi, London: Edward Elgar, 2015
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Causes and Consequences [of Booms and Busts]” and “Financial Fragility” in Booms and Busts: An Encyclopedia of Economic History from Tulipmania of the 1630's to the Global Financial Crisis of the 21st Century Ed. James Ciment,2010
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Banking Industry” (pp.250-4); "Speculation" (pp.54-5); "Panics" (pp.124-5) and "Great Tulip Mania" (p.375) International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences 2nd ed., 9 vols. Ed. William A. Darity Jr. (Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008)
"Financial Crises, Crashes, and Speculative Bubbles: The Regulation Imperative in a Critique of Recent Episodes" in Global Political Economy and the Wealth of Nations: Performance Institutions, Problems and Policies. Ed. P. O'Hara (London & New York: Routledge, 2004 ) pp. 225-244.
Rowley, R. and B. Spotton Visano "Monetary Dialogue and Dogma in the Bank of Canada: Inside Evidence Revisited" (Rowley, R. and B. Spotton Visano) Central Banking in the Modern World: Alternative Perspectives Eds. M. Lavoie and M. Seccareccia (Cheltenham, U.K Edward Elgar, 2004) pp. 91-111.
"Macroeconomic Perspectives" (B. Spotton Visano, S. Ladner, A. Tabussum, and X. Zhang), Chapter 6 of Monitoring the Digital Divide... and Beyond Ed. G. Sciadas (Orbicom: UNESCO and Universite du Quebec a Montreal, 2003) pp. 83-88.
"Monetary Dialogue and Dogma in the Bank of Canada: Inside Evidence Revisited" (R. Rowley and B. Spotton Visano) Central Banking in the Modern World: Alternative Perspectives Eds. M. Lavoie and M. Seccareccia (Cheltenham, U.K Edward Elgar, 2004) pp. 91-111.
"Electronic Payments and Exchange Rate Regimes: Industry Changes and the Question of a Single North American Currency" Dollarization: Lessons from Europe for the Americas Eds. L.P. Rochon and M. Seccareccia (London & New York: Routledge, 2003) pp. 116-128.
"Margaret Myers" Biographical Dictionary of Women Economists Eds. R. Dimand, M.A. Dimand, and E. Forget. (London: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2000) pp. 320-322
Buckland, J., & Spotton Visano, B. (2022). Financial Vulnerability in Canada - The Embedded Experience of Households. Palgrave Macmillan, Springer Books.
Buckland, Jerry, Chris Robinson and Brenda Spotton Visano, eds. Payday Lending in Canada in a Global Context: A Mature Industry with Chronic Challenges London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018 Available online
Room to Grow: Celebrating Atkinson’s Living Legacy Eds. Brenda Spotton Visano and Kristin Taylor, Toronto Canada: York University, 2009. ISBN: 978-1-55014-508-3 (205pp)
Spotton Visano, Brenda Financial Crises: Socio-economic Causes and Institutional Context London & New York: Routledge.2006 ISBN: 0-41536-2873 Available online
Brzozowski, M., & Visano, B. Spotton (2023). Canadian Consumer Financial Vulnerability, Stress, and Well-Being. Canadian Public Policy, 49(2), 114-135.
Brzozowski, M., Spotton Visano, B. “Havin’ Money’s Not Everything, Not Havin’ It Is”: The Importance of Financial Satisfaction for Life Satisfaction in Financially Stressed Households. J Happiness Studies 21, 573–591 (2020).
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Gendering Post-Keynesian Macroeconomics with Situated Knowledge” Review of Radical Political Economics v.49 n.4 (2017): 567-573. Available online
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Defying the Dominant Discourse: Why contesting Neoliberalism needs Critical Pedagogy in Economics Education" Critical Studies in Education Available online
Britto, Neil and Brenda Spotton Visano “Building community capacity: Self-assessment performance metrics for Canadian microcredit programs,” Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation 2018 v.33 n.1
Spotton Visano, Brenda “From Challenging the Text to Constructing It in a Large Economics Classroom: Revealing the not-so-common sense of the capitalist mode of production” Review of Radical Political Economics Available online
Spotton Visano, Brenda & Imo Ek-Udofia "Inclusive financial literacy education for inspiring a critical financial consciousness: an experiment in partnership with marginalised youth." International Journal of Inclusive Education 21.7 (2017): 763-774. Available online
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Gendering Social Location in a Post-Keynesian Theory of Financial Crises” Studies in Political Economy 97(1) (2016): 95-103. Available online
Ahmed Allahwala, Susannah Bunce , Lesley Beagrie , Shauna Brail , Timothy Hawthorne , Sue Levesque, Jürgen von Mahs & Brenda Spotton Visano, (2013) Building and Sustaining Community-University Partnerships in Marginalized Urban Areas Journal of Geography, 112:2, 43-57 Available online
Stephen Chen, Brenda Spotton Visano, Michael Lui, Chaohui Lu “Evidence of Social Referencing Behaviour during Market Bubbles” IAENG International Journal of Computer Science, 2010. Volume 37 Issue 4, Pages 359-366 London, U.K Available online
S. Chen, J. Tien, and B. Spotton Visano “A Hybrid Multi-agent Model for Financial Markets” In: Nguyen N.T., Borzemski L., Grzech A., Ali M. (eds) New Frontiers in Applied Artificial Intelligence of Lecture Notes in Computer Science IEA/AIE vol 5027, pp. 531–540. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg Available online
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Different and Unequal: Payday Loans and Microcredit in Canada” Journal of Economic Asymmetries 2008 Vol.5 No.1, 109-123
"Introducing Social Investors into Multi-Agent Models of Financial Markets" (S. Chen,B. Spotton Visano and Y. Kong) Lecture Notes in Computer Science. 2006. 4031: 44-53.
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Financial Manias and Panics: A Socioeconomic Perspective” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 2002 61(4): 801-822. Excerpted and Translated 2003. «Bulles et paniques financières : une perspective socio-economique » in Problèmes Economiques No 2385 Mer 10 (Dec): 7-14
"Efficient Markets, Fundamentals, and Crashes: American Theories of Financial Crises and Market Volatility" (Spotton, B. and R. Rowley)American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 1998, 57(4): 663-690.
Spotton Visano, Brenda “Tensions between Consumer Financial Protection and Consumer Financial Responsibility” Presented to the Progressive Economics Association and the Canadian Economics Association 2016
“Assessing Microcredit Program Success for Community Economic Development in Canada” (Brenda Spotton Visano with Neil Britto) Canadian Economics Association, 2014
“Bridging Process and Outcomes: Assessing the Non-financial Performance of Canadian Microcredit Programs” (Neil Britto and Brenda Spotton Visano) Canadian Evaluation Society’s Annual Conference, 2012
"Confronting uncertainty: the fragility of financial institutions in structuring social interaction" (Spotton Visano, Brenda and Gervan Fearon) Session: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Economic Issues; Presented to the Progressive Economics Forum and Canadian Economics Association, Vancouver Canada, 2007.
"Who Bears the Burden? An Appraisal of the Socio-economic Impact of the Indonesian Crisis" (Spotton Visano, Brenda and Beatriz Cid) Presented to the Canadian Women Economists Network and Canadian Economics Association, Halifax Canada, 2007
"The Evolution of Financial Crises: Towards a Structural-Functional Analysis of Systemic Fragility" Presented at "Asymmetries in Trade and Currency Arrangements in the 21rst Century" hosted by and at the Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt Germany and by the Athenian Policy Forum, 2004
"A Research Agenda for the Information Society" (Brenda Spotton Visano and George Sciadas) Presented to the Canadian Economics Association. Ottawa Canada, 2003.
"Financial Instability Revisited: Recent Experience with Innovation and Institutional Change" Presented to the Progressive Economics Forum and the Canadian Economics Association Ottawa, 2003.
"Electronic Finance and Exchange Rate Regimes: Industry Changes and the Question of a Single North American Currency" International Council for Canadian Studies Conference on "Monetary and Financial Integration: Lessons from Europe for the Americas. The Debate over the Common Currency" Ottawa, 2000.
"The Increasing Fragility of Western Financial Capital Markets: The Impact of Information Communications Technologies on the Industry and its Stability." Presented to the Progressive Economics Forum and Canadian Economics Association, Vancouver Canada, 2000.
"Electronic Banking Implications for National Monetary Policy in a Global Financial Context." Presented at the Conference on Asymmetries in Financial Globalization, Loyola University, Chicago, USA, 1999.
“Quantitative Results for a Qualitative Investor Model – A Hybrid Multi-Agent Model with Social Investors” (Stephen Chen, Brenda Spotton Visano, and Michael Lui) Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2010 Vol I WCE 2010, June 30 - July 2, 2010, London, U.K. (Awarded a Certificate of Merit) On line at http://www.iaeng.org/publication/WCE2010/WCE2010_pp390-394.pdf
Andrea Medovarski, Leslie Sanders, Brenda Spotton Visano, “Is there a Best Fit? Assessing Alternative Entrance Pathways into an Undergraduate Degree for Non-Traditional Students at York University” Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, 2015, 47 pps. plus Appendixes Available online
“Report of the Working Group on Evening/Weekend Education at York University” full and abridged versions. Carolyn Edgecombe, Leslie Sanders, Brenda Spotton Visano 2009,72pps. Available electronically at the Atkinson Centre for Mature and Part-time Students website http://www.yorku.ca/acmaps/research.html
"Analysis of Prices and Quantities of Global Cellular and Telephone Data" (X. Zhang and B. Spotton Visano) Submitted to Orbicom (UNESCO and Universite du Quebec a Montreal, 2003) Pp.10
Report of the Special Committee to Examine the Status of Women Economists in Canada. 2001. (Brenda Spotton Visano, Martin Dooley, Nicole Fortin, Nancy Gallini, and Frances Woolley) . Special Committee of the Canadian Women Economists Network and the Canadian Economics Association, Pp.60 Submitted to the Canadian Women Economists Network and the Canadian Economics Association
"Electronic Money and Electronic Financial Transactions" Prepared under contract for and submitted to Statistics Canada, Part of the Telecommunications Statistical Infrastructure and Economic Analysis Program funded by the Telecommunications Policy Branch of Industry Canada, 1998 Pp.30.
Brenda Spotton Visano, "Rooted in Rock: The Entrenched Dominance of Mainstream Economics" The Pedagogical Consequences of the Crisis. Progressive Economics Forum Summer Workshop (2016)
Brenda Spotton Visano, “Resolving Crises: One More Chance to get it Right…by going Left” Crisis and Opportunity: It's Time for a Progressive Economy, Parkland Institute, 2009.
Brenda Spotton Visano, “The Evolution of Financial Crises: Towards a Structural-Functional Analysis of Systemic Fragility” Presented at Asymmetries in Trade and Currency Arrangements in the 21rst Century, Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt Germany and Athenian Policy Forum, 2004
Brenda Spotton Visano, “Capital, Community and Conscience” Keynote Address, New Social Contracts for Human Security, International Conference on Human Security, Narsuan University, Thailand, 2003
Book Review of Brenda Spotton Visano Financial Crises..., by Hans G. Despain, Review of Radical Political Economics June 2014, 46: 252-257 Available online
“Evaluating Small Canadian Microcredit Programs – Proposed Indicators for the Social Performance Evaluation of Canadian Microcredit Programs and ACCESS Community Capital Fund” Neil Britto and Brenda Spotton Visano submitted to ACCESS Community Capital Fund, 2012
Approach to Teaching
As a discipline, economics could be a broad intellectual study of our material relations – how we might organize ourselves to produce and distribute goods and services for nurturing our material well-being. Economics as currently practiced is, instead, most often only about how neoclassical economics governs that organization.
In my teaching I look to return authentic pluralism to the economics classroom in a way that encourages students’ appreciation for a richer set of perspectives on our material relations. By opening the door to broader theoretical conceptions of our material relations and the politics of difference, engaged pedagogy animates pluralist economic content. Pluralist content admits, in turn, heterodox variants of economic policy analysis.
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | GS/PPAL6230 3.0 | A | Topics in Public Policy | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/POLS3300 6.0 | A | Statistics for Social Sciences | ONLN |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/POLS3300 6.0 | A | Statistics for Social Sciences | ONLN |
| Winter 2025 | GS/PPAL6200 3.0 | N | Research Methods and Information Systems | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | GS/PPAL6230 3.0 | A | Topics in Public Policy | SEMR |
