Robert Pollin, Distinguished Professor of economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), comments on a $1 trillion infrastructure plan with a focus on sustainability proposed by presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Pollin says Buttigieg’s plan is “going in the right direction,” but “a lot hinges on where you come up with the money.” He says Sen. Elizabeth Warren “does a much more serious job of going underneath the surface than he does.” (South Bend Tribune, 1/14/20)
A news story about calls by the mayors of London and New York for cities to divest their pension funds from fossil fuel producers notes that a 2018 report co-authored by Robert Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, says the divestment movement has not substantially impacted fossil fuel share prices or reduced carbon emissions. (Reuters, 1/8/20)
Coverage of the annual meeting of the American Economic Association quotes M.V. Lee Badgett, professor of economics and co-chair of the association’s new Committee on the Status of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the Economics Profession, formed in response to revelations of sexism, racism and harassment in the profession. Badgett says, “What I’ve heard, over and over again, is — this is the moment, we need to take advantage of it.” (The New York Times, 1/7/20)
In a video interview, Katherine Moos, economics, discusses the significance of news that for the second time in history women outnumber men in the U.S. workforce,. Moos says this is due in part to the expansion of jobs in traditionally female sectors, like healthcare, education and retail. (The Real News Network, 1/16/20)
M.V. Lee Badgett, economics and public policy, comments in a story about why a new question on the national census about same sex couples is important. She says the data generated by the question will help guide decisions on how to battle discrimination against same-sex couples and may serve as the basis for new programs to assist them. (WABE [public radio in Atlanta], 12/20/19)
An article discussing what the U.S. Republican Party can learn from last week’s election in the United Kingdom. notes that Prime Minister Boris Johnson brought in Arindrajit Dube, professor of economics at UMass Amherst, to consult on a plan to raise the minimum wage in the U.K. (Vox, 12/17/19)
Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, is one of the researchers who have developed a cost model being used in South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan for moving from coal-fired energy to renewable energy by 2030. The plan, written by Pollin and Brian Callaci, was published in the journal U.S. Labor Studies earlier this year. (Daily Maverick [South Africa], 12/10/19)
A columnist writing about how a single-payer healthcare system would be financed cites a proposal from Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, that show both savings and new sources of tax revenues. (North Coast Journal [Calif.], 12/5/19)
James K. Boyce, professor emeritus in economics, writes about his proposal to implement carbon dividends, a system of putting a price on carbon emissions and returning the revenue to the public. (National Catholic Reporter, 11/20/19)
A Nov. 20 piece in The Conversation citing research by Gerald Friedman, economics, about costs for Medicare for All, was picked up the AP and reprinted. (Lincoln Journal Star [Nebraska], 11/20/19)