INTERVIEW:
PHOTO CREDIT: Jeffery Burkhead
Misty L. Heggeness (Author of Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy)
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FOR my first interview of 2026…
I have been fortunate enough to speak with the superb Misty L. Heggeness. She is co-director of the Kansas Population Center, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at the University of Kansas, and former Principal Economist and Senior Advisor at the US Census Bureau. She is also creator of The Care Board, a dashboard of economic statistics built by and for caregivers that brings their economic contributions into the fold. She has over a decade of experience leading high-profile research that informed decision-making within the U.S. federal government. Her research focuses on poverty and inequality, gender economics, and the high-skilled workforce, and she has appeared in outlets such as The New York Times, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Economist, and Science. I have speaking with her about her superb book, Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy. It is released in the U.S. today (27th January). The book blends fresh data and pop culture to show women are the unsung engines of our economy. Here is some more information about a timely, essential and fascinating debut:
"Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are more than just entertainers. They are economic powerhouses, challenging patriarchal norms and redefining what it means to be a working woman. Anything they touch turns into gold. Their stories—alongside those of famous and influential icons like Rihanna, Dolly Parton, and Reese Witherspoon—underscore a simple yet often overlooked truth: women are not mere background players in our economy; they are its engine.
In Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy (University of California Press, January 27, 2026), renowned economist Misty Heggeness builds on this reality by defining the power of harnessing women’s experiences and their voices to advance economic growth, development, and equity. In Heggeness’s own words, the concept of ‘Swiftynomics’ is about “women’s ability to influence consumption and marketing patterns by leveraging their human experiences for economic benefit. It is women investing in one another, and it thrives today, even in these challenging times.”
Blending cultural commentary with rigorous data, Heggeness examines the ever-evolving economic lives of American women. From Hollywood icons, a Harvard-trained lawyer, politicians, caregivers, and women in between, she reveals the unexamined value women create when pursuing their goals. With humor, personal anecdotes, and chapters playfully titled after some Taylor Swift hits—like "Mastermind" and "Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince"—she makes big economic ideas both accessible and engaging. Along the way, Heggeness challenges misconceptions by highlighting the real impact of women’s daily lives, the barriers that limit their progress, and the common threads connecting women’s experiences across the globe”.
You can also order the brilliant Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy. The book offers advice for women to thrive in an economy that was not built for them. Whilst Taylor Swift is at the core and centre, the book looks at other groundbreakers like her. Even if you are a Taylor Swift fan or not, I cannot recommend Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy highly enough! Huge thanks to Misty L. Heggeness for discussing a book…
THAT everyone should read.
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Hey Misty. Congratulations on Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy. It is a fascinating and hugely important book. Was there a particular moment or reason that compelled you to write the book? Why publish it now?
I am one of the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people sitting on their couch in their cozy pjs day-drinking wine who decided it would be a good idea to write a book. The serious answer is that I was data-sleuthing during the pandemic to report on what was happening to women and work. What I found in the data was counterintuitive to the storyline we tell ourselves about women, motherhood, and paid labor. So counterintuitive that it became storybook worthy. At the same time, Taylor was over on her couch churning out high-quality albums like folklore and evermore that were so relatable. How did she continue to be so productive? It just clicked for me – Taylor had to be the muse for my book.
The book opens with a Taylor Swift quote from a 2023 TIME interview, suggesting lucrative benefits from female creativity means more female art gets made. Why was it important to lead with that quote? When did you first discover Taylor Swift and what drew you to her music?
It is one of my favorite Taylor quotes. She’s right, you know. Often women are expected to do things voluntarily, or they are seen as selfish if they make money or want to earn more money. We don’t offer that same shame to men. But, when women earn more money, the research shows they invest it differently than men. They are more likely to invest in other female talent or programs and solutions that help women up the ranks. So, I agree 100% with Taylor, we should all want women’s art and talent to be lucrative because that does mean more female art gets made. This phenomenon is what swiftynomics is all about – women harnessing women’s talent and economic agency.
“Young women do not often hear songs written with lyrics from their earnest perspectives”
A TIME article you wrote in September talked about how Swift’s “emotion-focused approach” is key to her success. The Life of Showgirl’s orange-themed marketing genius. How, when immigration and women’s rights are low priority, Swift’s emotion-focused approach is resonating with her fans and young Americans. Latching onto a beautiful and bright orange (rather than the toxic and radioactive orange in the White House), what impact has her latest album had on national hope and the lives of her fanbase? Do you think profitability was also key when it came to the multiple versions of TLOAS, or was it to give fans options or that sense of belonging to this important musical moment?
Can’t it be both? The music industry and music production is a business at the end of the day. But Taylor wouldn’t create multiple versions if her fans were not interested in purchasing them. It’s the market doing what markets do. Now, the key question may be how does Taylor get and keep her fans so engaged in her art? The answer there, I think, is emotion, connection, and scarcity. Never underestimate the pull and strength of human emotions that are relatable. Taylor makes us feel connected to her and to the larger Swiftie community in a safe and reliable way, which draws us more to her and what she is selling (which is her music). Taylor does this like few others. She doesn’t sing songs written by men for women. She doesn’t sing songs for young women written by older women or vice versa. She sings songs she wrote about real emotional experiences she has either had or read about. By doing this, she develops lyrics that speak deeply to the lived experiences of a woman going through life in a world built for the ease of men or others with the privilege to dominate. Young women do not often hear songs written with lyrics from their earnest perspectives. The scarcity of this type of lyricism in music is the third component that makes Taylor so successful. She tapped into a burning need that music industry leaders didn’t even know existed.
IN THIS PHOTO: Taylor Swift at the GRAMMY Awards on 3rd February, 2025/PHOTO CREDIT: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
It is a book that is broader than this one artist. However, before moving on, whilst it is brilliant Swift is such pioneering, groundbreaking and has undoubtedly massively advanced economic growth, equality and consumption, do you think excessive wealth and this monolithic focus can have its downsides and cause as many issues as it does benefits?
High levels of inequality are always bad in any society. Income inequality has been on the rise in the United States for decades. It is making it more difficult for people to live a comfortable middle-class lifestyle. That is a huge problem, and we should as a society address it immediately. Our policymakers should do their job. That is not a problem Taylor can solve for us on her own. Although, I will note that donating millions of dollars along The Eras Tour city stops to local food pantries and providing her tour staff huge bonuses once again shows you what happens when women control the purse string – they are more likely to reinvest in the rest of us.
You blend cultural commentary with rigorous data and examine the economic lives of American women - from Hollywood icons, lawyers and caregivers. It is clear that women across all sectors massively shape and effect American economy and prosperity. Do you think their roles and value is discussed and appreciated enough, and is it in danger of being marginalised in a patriarchal and sexist presidency – and one where billionaire (and trillionaire) men are given the biggest platform and voice?
I think this current mojo-dojo-casa White House is an example of increased gains in female economic power because it is the backlash from traditionalist, privileged mostly white men getting nervous that traditional power dynamics in society are shifting. It is their reaction to women coming into their full economic power. In that sense, it’s a good thing because it means women are on the move. I don’t consider this Ken-like patriarchy to last for too long. The problem with the Kens, if you watched the Barbie movie, is that they come in all hot but never last long. Their strategies are unsustainable.
“When young girls see these famous women not bogged down by the patriarchy, it fuels their belief in their ability to do the same”
Particularly notable and disturbing in the U.K. is an epidemic of violence against women. In the U.S., it seems women’s rights, body autonomy and financial freedom is being suppressed and there is a return to a darker age of freedom and autonomy. Do you feel that Swiftynomics and what that represents redefine an economy that is being so handled in such a haphazard, impulsive and almost dictatorial manner?
Not much more to say here than my previous answer, except that if we look back in time at any point where women were silenced or stifled, it never ended there. Women are persistent planners who know how to move the patriarchy aside behind the scenes when needed. In my book, I give a few examples of this from a historical perspective.
Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl has broken records; Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour was the highest-grossing of this year. Aside from the obvious benefits this brings to venues, towns and the national economic, how do you feel this directly (or indirectly) benefits women outside of music - and does it have this trickle-down effect?
When young girls see these famous women not bogged down by the patriarchy, it fuels their belief in their ability to do the same. Taylor and Beyoncé are the right type of role models if we want young women to continue breaking barriers and masterminding ways around systems that hold them back.
Your book is really, and to quote one reviewer, a “rallying cry”. It is phenomenal read! In terms of female equality, economically and beyond, do you have reason to be hopeful for the future? What are the most noticeable and impactful ways artists like Taylor Swift are sparking change and masterminding this revolution?
As mentioned above, I am extremely, deterministically hopeful for the future. More and more, as women’s authentic voices come out in unexpected or hidden ways – whether it is through Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Production company telling lived stories from female points of view, women developing newsrooms built for stories of women written by women like The 19th*, or women funding women’s ideas through the Female Founders Fund, women are advancing with or without the loud men at high-levels of government today. None of their rhetoric can stop us. We’ll just continue doing what we’ve done for centuries, which is to mastermind our way through it…and Taylor will be right at our side the whole time.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jeffery Burkhead
I love how you use Taylor Swift song titles as chapter headings and you bring in personal anecdotes, facts and graphs to make your book both informative, educational, but also thought-provoking, accessible and very re-readable. Was it a challenging book to write, or was it quite a quick process? What do you hope the reader, female or not, takes away from reading Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy?
This book stems from the inner, deepest corners of my heart and soul. It’s the book I was always meant to write from the first time I wrote a letter to the editor in high school complaining about unfair policy behavior in my community. I did it all wrong, however, in that I didn’t actually carve out time from my schedule to write the book. I wrote it on weekends and evenings after all the drudgery of my real life was taken care of. In some ways, it was an escape for me and, perhaps because of that, it was not challenging to write. Never having taken on a project so grand, however, meant that the end of the book writing process was daunting and overwhelming for me (which subchapter headings go where???). I only hope that the overwhelmingness of threading the entire book together is good enough for the reader to fully embrace my passion, determination, and joy of writing about a topic near and dear to my heart.
A few more questions before wrapping up. You have children who are teenagers. You end the book by hoping that, when they enter adulthood, the dial shifts in terms of women’s schedules, economic equality and a better work-life balance. Have they given you feedback or impressions of your book, and what is their thoughts on Taylor Swift/Switynomics and the amazing women you have written about?
I am the only Swiftie in my family, but my daughter was generous enough with her time to tag along with me to two Eras Tour concerts. I think my family probably represents most in that we have me, who overly identifies with Taylor’s lyrics along the arc of her life and career, my spouse and son, who cannot figure out why she is so famous, and a daughter who wants to like her but is too naïve still to understand how truly meaningful and relatable Taylor’s lyrics are for women. I’m the only correct one of the group. If you ask them, they will eventually admit that I am always right.
“And, where women’s priorities are answered, inequality, climate change, and other top pressing issues will continue to be addressed”
I know the book will be discussed, and articles will be written about it. To me, it seems like there is life beyond the page; to podcasts or documentaries maybe? Do you think there will be offshoots and sister projects that tie in to Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy?
I honestly hope so! My day job is as a professor in a university where I teach and do innovative research on women, work, and the economy. But in some parallel universe, I would love to see these ideas continue with a life all their own through some sort of social media pop-culture spinoff. Women deserve it.
It is hard to predict the future. However, given the massive impact female artists have had this year and how this must have also been mirrored across wider American society – and internationally too -, what are your predictions for next year regarding the visible results of this? Can greater economical balance and mobility for women directly impact policy, politics and wider issues in the world – such as climate change, the high cost of living and immigration right in the U.S.?
I think so. The pendulum will continue to swing in politics. Women will continue to adapt and adjust to make sure our priorities are met either in the short- or long-run. And, where women’s priorities are answered, inequality, climate change, and other top pressing issues will continue to be addressed.
Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy has the Pennsylvania-born icon at its heart. So, you can either choose a song or hers or another powerhouse woman in music to end this interview. What track would you like to go with?
mad woman – always and forever may I be.