McCourt School Welcomes Gene Sperling and the Economic Dignity Lab

The Lab is grounded in the three-part framework Sperling introduced in his book Economic Dignity (2020): the capacity to care for loved ones while being present for life’s most precious moments; the ability to pursue purpose and potential; and the right to experience dignity and respect at work, free from domination and humiliation.

Drawing on this framework, the Lab will produce detailed, evidence-based policy proposals designed to serve as the foundation for actual legislation and administrative action. Its first publication, “An Economic Dignity Compact for the AI Age,” appeared in Democracy on January 21, 2026, outlining a comprehensive approach to AI policy that centers worker dignity and rejects universal income models in favor of targeted investments in “double dignity” job creation, a basic economic dignity floor, and significantly expanded worker adjustment support.

Beyond AI, the Lab will tackle a range of issues including eviction prevention, employment opportunities for people with disabilities, dignity at work, economic revitalization in factory towns, and policies to reduce child poverty and expand opportunity regardless of circumstance of birth. The Lab will also serve as a forum for dialogue across diverse policy and political perspectives.

Sperling is the only person to have served as Director of the National Economic Council under two presidents—Bill Clinton (1997–2001) and Barack Obama (2011–2014)—and most recently served as White House Coordinator for the American Rescue Plan and Senior Advisor to President Biden (2021–2024). He also founded the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, where he served as its first executive director.

“We are thrilled to welcome Gene Sperling and the Economic Dignity Lab to the McCourt School,” said Dean Carole Gresenz of the McCourt School of Public Policy. “Gene brings unparalleled experience from nearly fifteen years at the White House, combined with a deeply human-centered vision for economic policy. The Lab’s approach—developing rigorous, actionable economic policy proposals and fostering debate across the political spectrum—exemplifies our School’s commitment to serious and sustained dialogue across differences. This initiative will enrich our community and provide an array of opportunities for our students.”

“More than GDP or any other metric, economic dignity has always been the right north star and measuring stick for judging the success or shortcomings of our economic policies. In the AI age, issues of economic dignity for all will only become more profound,” said Economic Dignity Lab Executive Director Gene Sperling. “The McCourt Public Policy School is the perfect place to launch the Economic Dignity Lab, not only because of its proximity to policymakers, but because of Georgetown’s long-standing values that see public policy as fundamentally concerned with the promotion of human dignity.”

More information about the Lab and its work can be found on the Economic Dignity Lab website.