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Alí R. Bustamante

Director, Worker Power and Economic Security

he/him

As director of Roosevelt's worker power and economic security program, Alí Bustamante leads research on democratizing the 21st-century economy and centering equity across America's institutions.


Alí specializes in how public policy can structure markets around both economic and social value and empower Americans through the provision of public goods and stronger labor protections. His recent research for the worker power and economic security program explores profiteering within the fast-food industry, the connection between sectoral bargaining and wage growth, and the macroeconomic implications of care work in the US.

Alí is an expert on labor, economics, and public policy and a native Spanish speaker. His research and analysis have been featured in the New York Times, USA Today, NPR, CNN, Forbes, Charities USA, and other media outlets.

Prior to joining Roosevelt, he served as chief economist at the Louisiana Workforce Commission, senior research associate at the Southern Economic Advancement Project, and as faculty at Florida International University, the University of New Orleans, and Loyola University New Orleans.

Alí earned a BA and PhD from the University of Miami, specializing in political economy. Born in Masaya, Nicaragua, and raised in Miami, he now lives in New Orleans.