PhD Dissertation Defense: Elijah Miller

Date/Time: Mon, Aug 11th, 2025 at 10:00 am

Location: Renaissance Park 310 and Zoom

https://northeastern.zoom.us/j/91364224138

Meeting ID: 913 6422 4138

Title: “Three Essays in Solidarity Economics Solidarity Finance: Wealth-Building”

Abstract:

Converging crises of inequality, financial volatility, and ecological breakdown have intensified calls for economic paradigms that privilege collective flourishing over private gain. Responding to this conjuncture, the dissertation Solidarity Finance: Defining Wealth and Wealth‑Building from a Solidarity Economy Perspective reconceptualizes “wealth” and
“wealth‑building” through an exhaustive synthesis of global social and solidarity economy (SSE) scholarship.

A multi‑phase grounded‑theory meta‑synthesis reviewed 3,282 sources, algorithmically distilled 379 high‑relevance texts, and conducted deep manual coding of 32 focal publications spanning six world regions, in order to develop a theory of wealth from a solidarity economy perspective. Just over 6,000 abstracts were reviewed, 240 articles were analyzed with
artificial intelligence tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini), and 88 articles were subject to manual coding and content analysis to further elucidate assets from a solidarity economy perspective and how public policy can realize positive outcomes from solidarity economy asset development and wealth building.

The inquiry yields an original theory of Solidarity Wealth: a democratically governed, multidimensional capacity that is simultaneously material, social, cultural, ecological, and political. Six mutually reinforcing dimensions—democratic ownership, social relations, human capabilities, ecological stewardship, cultural vitality, and ethical justice—constitute this
construct. The study offers a replicable framework for solidarity‑based wealth‑building that elaborates iterative practices of expanding cooperative and commons ownership, circulating surplus for community benefit, nurturing shared resources, and enacting equity‑centred governance.

An embedded policy case study of Boston’s SPACE (Supporting Pandemic Affected Community Enterprises) program demonstrates the practical salience of the framework. By pairing public ARPA funds with technical assistance and peer networks, SPACE illustrates how solidarity‑oriented finance can seed durable community wealth and informs a proposed
municipal Solidarity Economy Framework Ordinance.

Findings signal a paradigmatic shift from extractive accumulation to regenerative solidarity: societies are genuinely wealthy when they secure dignified lives, shared prosperity, and planetary well‑being for all. Policy implications span the design of pluralistic financial instruments, participatory metrics, and integrated social, land, and environmental strategies that treat public outlays as investments in collective capacity rather than costs. Study limitations—single‑researcher coding and the absence of standardized indicators—invite future mixed‑methods and participatory inquiries to operationalize, measure, and longitudinally test solidarity wealth outcomes. By supplying both a robust conceptual vocabulary and an actionable blueprint, the dissertation advances solidarity finance as an empirically grounded, globally resonant pathway toward “abundance for all.”

Committee Members:

Prof. Alicia Modestino, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University (Chair)

Prof. Ted Landsmark, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University

Prof. Kimberly Lucas, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University