Jason Spicer
Asst Professor
Marxe School of Public and International Affairs
Department: Public Affairs
Areas of expertise:
Email Address: jason.spicer@baruch.cuny.edu
> View CV- Biography
- Teaching
- Research and Creative Activity
- Grants
- Honors and Awards
- Service
Jason Spicer joined the Marxe School faculty in 2023 from the University of Toronto’s downtown flagship campus, where he was a full-time tenure-track faculty member for five years, and was the founder and director of the Community Economies Lab.
He holds a PhD in Political Economy from MIT, and his research, teaching, and practice-based work focuses on the social economy, with a particularly focus on more democratic enterprise models, such as worker cooperatives, credit unions, and community land trusts. His work has been published in a number of leading social science journals and featured in media outlets such as The Washington Post, PBS Newshour, The Conversation, Governance, Fast Company, and Foreign Policy.
Before becoming a professor, Jason had a 15-year career in the global urban development industry, based in New York City, working with local, national, and trans-national governments, as well private sector and third-sector organizations, in a variety of capacities. You can learn more about his work at his website.
Education
Ph.D., Political Economy, MIT Cambridge United States
M.C.P., City Planning, MIT Cambridge United States
Ph.D. Student, Sociology (Degree Not Completed), U.C. Berkeley Berkeley United States
Certificate, Comparative International Development, Johns Hopkins University Baltimore United States
B.A., Sociology, Johns Hopkins University Baltimore United States
B.A., Economics, Johns Hopkins University Baltimore United States
| Semester | Course Prefix | Course Number | Course Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2024 | PAF | 9190 | Public Affairs Capstone Semina |
| Fall 2023 | PAF | 9190 | Public Affairs Capstone Semina |
Books
Spicer, J. (2024). Cooperative Enterprise in Comparative Perspective: Exceptionally Un-American?. Oxford, UK, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.
Journal Articles
Wang, V., & Spicer, J. (2024). All Roads Lead to Rome?”: Performance Evaluation across Different Types of Community Land Trusts based on a Large-Scale Survey. JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, (Online First). 1-22.
(2023). Conceptualizing US Community Economic Development: Evidence from New York City (Selected for Republication in The Community Development Reader, Third Edition, Forthcoming 2025). JOURNAL OF PLANNING EDUCATION AND RESEARCH, 43(4). 940-957.
(2023). Why Do Planners Overlook Manufactured Housing and Resident-Owned Communities as Sources of Affordable Housing and Climate Transformation?. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION, 89(1). 72-79.
(2023). Resident-Owned Resilience: Can Cooperative Land Ownership Enable Transformative Climate Adaptation for Manufactured Housing Communities?. HOUSING POLICY DEBATE, 33(5). 1055-1077.
(2022). Cooperative enterprise at scale: comparative capitalisms and the political economy of ownership. SOCIO-ECONOMIC REVIEW, 20(3). 1173-1209.
(2022). Another organization is possible: New directions in research on alternative enterprise. SOCIOLOGY COMPASS, 16(3). 1-18.
(2022). Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit: The Publicly Owned Variety of Community Land Trust. JOURNAL OF PLANNING EDUCATION AND RESEARCH, 1-16.
(2022). Multiple entrepreneurial ecosystems? Worker cooperative development in Toronto and Montreal. ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING A-ECONOMY AND SPACE, 54(4). 611-633.
(2021). Ownership and Mission Drift in Alternative Enterprises: The Case of a Social Banking Network. RESEARCH IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF ORGANIZATIONS, 72. 257-291.
(2021). A Non-Profit Networked Platform for Global Health. STANFORD SOCIAL INNOVATION REVIEW, 19(1). 18-25.
(2020). Worker and Community Ownership as an Economic Development Strategy: Innovative Rebirth or Tired Retread of a Failed Idea?. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, 34(4). 325-342.
(2019). Social entrepreneurship as field encroachment: how a neoliberal social movement constructed a new field. SOCIO-ECONOMIC REVIEW, 17(1). 195-227.
(2019). The Just Transition, Economic Democracy and the Green New Deal. METROPOLITICS,
(2018). Electoral Systems, Regional Resentment and the Surprising Success of Anglo-American Populism. CAMBRIDGE JOURNAL OF REGIONS ECONOMY AND SOCIETY, 11(1). 115-141.
(2018). Social Enterprise is Not Social Change. STANFORD SOCIAL INNOVATION REVIEW, 16(2). 2-4.
Book Chapters
(2023). What’s In A Name? Conceptual Frameworks for a Co-operative World. Humanity@WorkLife: Global Diffusion of the Mondragon Cooperative Ecosystem Experience (pp. 41-60). Dublin, Ireland. Oaktree Press.
(2020). National Living Wage Movements in a Regional World: The Fight for $15 in the United States. Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) Annual Research Volume (Reimagining the Governance of Employment and Work) (pp. 41-67). Ithaca, NY. Cornell University Press/LERA.
Presentations
Spicer, J. Book Colloquy: 20th Anniversary of James DeFilippis’ Unmaking Goliath. Urban Affairs Association Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J., & Kay, T. (2024, November 26). An Organization as a Movement? Non-Profit Organizing Strategies for Scale. Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C.: Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action.
Spicer, J., & Wang, V. Addressing Climate Change Through Collective Tenure? Comprehensive Evidence from Surveys of Community Land Trusts (CLTs) in the US and Canada. Urban Affairs Association Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J., & Wang, V. All Roads Lead to Rome? Performance Evaluation of Different Types of Community Land Trusts Based on a Large-Scale Survey. Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J. Advancing Economic Democracy: Theory, Movement, and Policy (Roundtable) . American Political Science Association Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J., & Shatan, N. Technocratic vs. Transformative Community Land Trusts: An Organization Studies Approach. Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics Annual Meeting.
Wang, V., & Spicer, J. Varieties of Community Land Trusts? Evidence from the 2022 Community Land Trust Census. Urban Affairs Association Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J. Getting to Scale: Evil or Necessary? . : Platform Co-operative School/Platform Co-operative Consortium (The New School).
Spicer, J. Humanity & Worklife Book Talk: NY-Area Chapter Authors’ Presentation Event and Discussion. : CUNY School of Law/CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies (SLU).
Spicer, J. Worker Cooperative Ecosystems: Lessons from Toronto and Montréal. : CUNY Hunter College, Department of Urban Policy & Planning.
Spicer, J., & Kay, T. An Organization As a Movement. Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J. Book Colloquy: Practicing Cooperation: On Coops and Communities in Contemporary Capitalism, by Andrew Zitcer . Urban Affairs Association Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J. Solidarity Economies & Alternatives. : Association for Social Economics.
Spicer, J., & Kay, T. Project Echo and the COVID-19 Crisis. American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Organizations, Occupations & Work Section (Full Paper).
Shatan, N., & Spicer, J. Community Land Trusts: Technocratic Housing Affordability Tool, or Transformative Community Economic Development Model? . Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Annual Meeting.
Kay, T., & Spicer, J. A Non-Profit Networked Platform for Global Health. : University of Notre Dame Eck Institute for Global Health.
Spicer, J. Forms of Cooperative Enterprise and Their Use in Technology and Community. : Harvard University, Berkman Klein Center at Harvard Law School.
Spicer, J., Manduca, R., & Kay, T. National Living Wage Movements in a Regional World. International Labour and Employment Relations (ILERA) Meeting.
Spicer, J., Manduca, R., & Kay, T. A Locally Nuanced Living Wage?. Labor and Employment Relations (LERA) Meeting.
Spicer, J. Building the Global Cooperative Commonwealth. The New Common Sense Conference: Forging The Cooperative Digital Economy. : The New School and The Institute for Ecological Economics Research/Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW).
Spicer, J. Social Enterprise or Social Change?. : United Theological Seminary (MN).
Spicer, J. Organizationally Diverse Ecologies of Firms and the Case of Co-operative Enterprise in New Zealand. Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J. Social Enterprise as Social Change?. : Emlyon Business School.
Spicer, J., Stephens, L., & Kramer, A. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit: Varieties of Housing Land Trusts? . Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J. Researching Alternative Enterprises. : CUNY Graduate Center, Dept. of Sociology.
Spicer, J., & Mattson, G. Changing Spatial Distributions + Relationships among LGBTQ+ Households and Businesses. American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Roundtable, Community & Urban Section.
Scholz, T., O'Brien, D., & Spicer, J. Can Co-operatives Build Worker Power? . : Platform Co-operative School/Platform Co-operative Consortium (The New School).
Spicer, J. Alternative Tenure Models for Planners. : Florida State University.
Spicer, J. Economic Democracy 2.0. : Reed College, Dept. of Sociology.
Spicer, J., Cheong, N., & Stephens, L. Affordable Housing Strategies in Toronto and Vancouver: Lessons for New York. : Government of the City of New York. Department of Housing Preservation and Development..
Spicer, J. Framings of Alternatives to Capitalism. Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J. Community Economic Development: The Evolving Nature of Community Economies (Roundtable). Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J. Planning the Non-Capitalist City? A Historical Institutionalist Account of The Cooperative Movement in American City and Regional Planning. Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J. Who Needs a Living Wage? Location-Based Estimates of the Demand for Higher Wages in the United States. Urban Affairs Association Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J., Stephens, L., & Kramer, A. Alternative Tenures in Vancouver, New York, and Toronto. Urban Affairs Association Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J. Traditional + Heterodox Approaches to Economic Development Planning + Policy. . : Cornell University, City and Regional Planning.
Spicer, J. Worker + Community Ownership as An Economic Development Strategy?. : Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
Spicer, J., & Lee-Chuvala, C. Sustainability and Hierarchies of Ownership: Evidence from the Values-Based Banking Movement. Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J., & Storper, M. Economic Globalization + the Emergence of US Electoral Regions. American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J. Coordinating Diverse Organizational Forms: Lessons from France’s Social and Solidarity Economy. Our Economy! Conference. : City University of New York (CUNY) School of Labor and Urban Studies (SLU).
Spicer, J., Stephens, L., & Kramer, A. Conceptualizing Progressive Community Economic Development Strategies for the Populist Era – Evidence from NYC. Urban Affairs Association Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J. Social Justice and the Progressive City (Roundtable). Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Annual Meeting.
Ganz, M., Spicer, J., & Kay, T. Framing Social Entrepreneurship: A Neoliberal Model of Social Change. American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Political Sociology Section (Full Paper).
Spicer, J. The Role of Public Policy in Explaining Cross-National Variation in Large-Scale Cooperative Enterprise. Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics Annual Meeting.
Spicer, J. Cooperatives as a Sustainable Regional Economic Development Strategy: Innovative Rebirth or Tired Retread?. Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Annual Meeting.
Other Scholarly Works
Lambropoulos, A., St Louis McBurnie, K., Guan, J., Spicer, J., Belay, R., Williams, D., Villasa, O., & Baker, R. (2023). Waiving Supplier Diversity Certification Fees For Minority-Owned Business Enterprises (Policy Report). Black Urbanism Toronto and the University of Toronto School of Cities.
Wang, V., Wandio, C., Bennett, A., Spicer, J., Corugedo, S., & Thaden, E. (2023). The 2022 Census of Community Land Trusts and Shared Equity Entities in the United States: Prevalence, Practice, and Impact (Working Paper Series). Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Wandio, C., Trana, M., Pace, N., & Spicer, J. (2023). The 2023 Census of Community Land Trusts in Canada (Professional Report). The Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts.
Diop, T., Yang, D., Lo Hog Tian, J., Ibrahim, F., Widener, M., & Spicer, J. (2023). Increasing Meaningful Financial Inclusion in Rwanda: Community-Based Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies (Professional Report). The REACH Alliance.
Spicer, J., & Zhong, M. (2022). Including Worker Co-operatives in Economic Development Frameworks: Lessons from Two Canadian Cities. American Planning Association Economic Development Division Newsletter.
Lamb, Z., Spicer, J., & Shi, L. (2022). Debunking Stereotypes About Manufactured Housing Could Make Them A New Face of Affordable Housing (Republished in Housing Matters by the Urban Institute, Governing, Fast Company, and 20+ other outlets). The Conversation.
Lambropoulos, A., St Louis McBurnie, K., Guan, J., Spicer, J., Belay, R., Williams, D., Villasa, O., & Baker, R. (2022). Supplier Diversity Certification Fee Strategies for Minority-Owned Businesses (Policy Memorandum: City of Toronto).
Scholz, T., O'Brien, D., & Spicer, J. (2021). Can Co-operatives Build Worker Power? Give Platform Co-ops a Seat at the Policy Table . Public Seminar.
Spicer, J. (2020). Title Redacted. Policy Memoranda, U.S. Federal Government Executive Branch Transition Team.
Spicer, J., & Cheong, N. (2019). Title Redacted. Policy Memoranda, Government of the City of New York.
Spicer, J. (2017). How Shared Ownership Policy Reforms Can Respond to Populist Anger about Economic Inequality.
Spicer, J., & Glasmeier, A. (2014). Plugging Capital Leaks in Rural America: Myopia in Community Development Finance (Professional Report).
Spicer, J., Glasmeier, A., & Lee-Chuvala, C. (2013). Enhancing the Local Impact of Community Banks (Professional Report).
Reviews
Spicer, J. (2024,May 27). Practicing Co-operation: Mutual Aid Beyond Capitalism. PLANNING THEORY & PRACTICE.
Cheong, N., & Spicer, J. (2024,March 15). THE HANDBOOK OF DIVERSE ECONOMIES.. GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW.
Spicer, J., & Steil, J. (2024,July 26). The rise and fall of urban economies: lessons from San Francisco and Los Angeles. JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY.
| Honor / Award | Organization Sponsor | Date Received | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presidential Doctoral Fellowship (4 Years), Homer Burnell Award | MIT | 09-01-2014 | |
| Master's Tuition Fellowship | MIT | 09-01-2012 | |
| Best Paper in Planning & Entrepreneurship, 2nd Prize | Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation | 08-01-2022 | |
| U.C. Regents Full Tuition and Stipend, Merit PhD Fellowship | University of California, Berkeley | 08-01-1996 | |
| Dean's Faculty Excellence Award, Arts & Science | University of Toronto | 06-01-2022 | |
| Dean's Faculty Excellence Award, Arts & Science | University of Toronto | 06-01-2021 | |
| Dean's Faculty Excellence Award, Arts & Science | University of Toronto | 06-01-2020 | |
| Research Fellow | Global Alliance for Banking on Values | 06-01-2015 | |
| University and Departmental Graduation Honors | Johns Hopkins University | 05-23-1996 | |
| Joyce Rothschild Prize | Rutgers University, School of Management and Labor Relations, Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing | 05-01-2022 | |
| Elected Member | Phi Beta Kappa | 05-01-1996 | |
| Joyce Rothschild Prize, Honorable Mention | Rutgers University, School of Management and Labor Relations, Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing | 04-01-2024 | |
| Editor's Choice Award (Best Article), Socio-Economic Review | Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics | 01-01-2020 | |
| Top Ten Articles of the Year Award | Stanford Social Innovation Review | 01-01-2019 |
College
| Committee Name | Position Role | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dean's Initiative: New Degree Programs (City Planning) | Faculty Lead | Present | |
| Center for Non-Profit Strategy and Management (CNSM) | Speaker/Event Co-Organizer, Spring 2024 Semester | Present | |
| Executive Committee | Committee Member | Present |
Professional
| Organization | Position Role | Organization State | Organization Country | Start Date | End Date | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Economy | Editor, Associate Editor | United Kingdom | 1/1/2021 | Present | International | |
| Studies in Comparative International Development | Editor, Associate Editor | United States | 1/1/2021 | Present | International | |
| Society for Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE), Network A Co-Organizer | Track Organizer | France | 1/1/2022 | Present | International | |
| Occasional Book Manuscript (Monographs and Edited Volumes) and Book Chapter reviewer for: Cambridge University Press, Cornell University Press, MIT Press, Oxford University Press, University of California Press, University of Minnesota Press | Reviewer, Book | 1/1/2019 | Present | International | ||
| Occasional Reviewer for: American Sociological Review, Applied Economics, Business & Society, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, City & Community, Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, Economic Development Quarterly, Economic and Industrial Democracy, Economic Geography, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Planning Literature, Journal of Urban Affairs, Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity, Mobilization, Non-Profit Policy Forum, Organization and Environment, Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Social & Cultural Geography, Socio-Economic Review, Studies in Comparative International Development, Urban Studies | Reviewer, Journal Article | 1/1/2017 | Present | International |
Public
| Organization | Position Role | Organization State | Organization Country | Start Date | End Date | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Toronto, Economic Development Policy and Planning Concentration, Master's in Planning Degree Program | Program Coordinator | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Graduate Planning Program, Special Curricular Review & Re-Accreditation Study Committee | Committee Member | Present | International | |||
| Other Various Non-Profit Organizations and Government Advisory Committees: Board Member, Member, Consultant, Adviser (Full List Available Upon Request) | Member | Present | National | |||
| Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Social and Solidarity Economic Impact Working Group | Member | France | Present | International | ||
| Council of Advisers, Platform Co-operative Consortium, The New School | Committee Member | New York | Present | International | ||
| University of Toronto, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, Center for the Study of the United States, Steering Committee | Committee Member | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Faculty of Arts & Science Council (Substitute) | Member | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Graduate Professional Development Committee | Guest Speaker | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Geography & Planning Intersections Guest Speaker Series(1 Per Year) | Workshop Organizer | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Geography & Planning Intersections Series | Workshop Organizer | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Faculty Search Committee - Visiting Assistant Professor, Environmental Planning | Committee Member | Present | International | |||
| Summer Academic Speaker Series, Government of the City of New York, Housing Preservation & Development | Program Organizer | Present | Regional | |||
| University of Toronto, Faculty Search Committee - Assistant Professor, Environmental Planning | Committee Member | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Faculty Search Committee - Assistant Professor, Social and Community Development | Committee Member | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Graduate Geography Program (Executive & Curriculum) Committee | Committee Member | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Geography and Planning Appeals Committee | Committee Member | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Geography & Planning Progress Through the Ranks (PTR) Faculty Peer Evaluation Restructuring and Reform Committee | Committee Member | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Geography & Planning Progress Through the Ranks (PTR) Faculty Peer Evaluation Committee | Committee Member | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Graduate Planning Program Awards Committee | Committee Member | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Graduate Planning Program (Executive & Curriculum) Committee | Committee Member | Present | International | |||
| University of Toronto, Graduate Planning Program Admission Committee | Committee Member | Present | International |