Misty Heggeness is an associate professor of economics at the University of Kansas. She is a research scientist at KU’s Institute for Policy and Social Research. She’s a noted expert whose work has appeared in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and The Economist.
And she’s a Swiftie.
It’s a term of endearment Heggeness and millions of other fans of pop star Taylor Swift wear proudly.
“I’ve been following her career since 2019, and just was really impressed with the way that she was so persistent and, against the odds, really successful,” Heggeness said.
“And so, it felt like she was the perfect muse for this book.”
The book, “Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy,” came out earlier this year and explores the pop star’s rise to fame and how it illustrates the role of women in today’s economy.
Heggeness approaches Swift’s two decades-long career through an academic lens. The book includes 50 pages of footnotes, along with charts and graphs that illustrate labor force trends, gender pay inequalities and other economic concepts.
But it’s also a celebration of Swift’s achievements and a study in pursuing ambitions.
“I wanted to write a book that told the story of … the modern woman today, in terms of their economic agency,” Heggeness said. “I’m definitely a fan, but I would say part of my fandom comes from just doing the deep dive into her career … and realizing the depth of her unique skill set.”
A common theme in Swift’s music is the nod to powerful and often controversial women throughout history — women like Clara Bow, Rebekah Harkness, Elizabeth Taylor and Lady Idina Sackville. Heggeness said much of Swift’s appeal is her commitment to telling authentic stories about her own life and lifting up other women.
“She's really honed into a market that many other marketers have just ignored, which is giving women content that speaks to their lived experiences,” she said. “Taylor is one of the best at that, and you can see that it's been very lucrative for her.”
A six-episode documentary about Swift’s Eras Tour chronicled the development and logistics of the record-breaking tour, with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with musicians, performers and family members. In it, Heggeness saw more examples of Swift’s leadership.
“You see her wanting to be successful through the success of others,” she said. “You see her making critical decisions about how the tour was going to be defined, and how they were going to be represented.”
Heggeness started researching her book well before the Eras Tour, which grossed $2 billion and enabled Swift to buy back the rights to her first six albums.
Prior to that tour, Heggeness said, Swift’s decision to re-record her early albums and release them with the “Taylor’s Version” label offered a master class in loyalty, branding and consumer behavior.
“She's really good at masterminding,” Heggeness said. “Masterminding is really just looking at the long-term strategy that you might have to get to where you want to go, and then figuring out how to get there in the long run.”
Swift’s career also illustrates the economic power women can have when they embrace their dreams, Heggeness said.
“I laugh when people are surprised by Taylor's fame or they can't understand it,” she said. “And part of that is because of the way we are built in society and the way that we continually diminish young girls.
“We assume that they don't have much talent, or that they aren't going to aspire to do great things. … And I love that Taylor is changing that rhetoric and those assumptions.”
Last fall, Heggeness and other faculty members launched a course at KU that explores various topics through the lens of Swift. The seminar explores Swift’s lyrics, her business sense and her influence on pop culture.
Heggeness says she hopes the new book inspires more people — and especially women — to study economics and to look for examples of economic theory in everyday life.
“I want people to have a better understanding of the field of economics. I want women and young girls to get … interested in this field and to want to study it.”
