Leonce Ndikumana, economics and director of the Political Economy Research Institute’s African Policy Program, was interviewed about the economic impact the Ebola outbreak is having on West Africa. (Voice of America Central Africa Service, 11/19/14; link not available, interview not in English)
Month: November 2014
Gerald A. Epstein, economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, discusses how rules developed under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law don’t address some of the key reforms sought by those who want to rein in banks and large financial firms. He says the new rules allow already huge banks to stay huge, but may be helpful in pointing out that this is one of the key problems for the industry and the economy. (The Real News Network, 11/10/14)
Jeannette Wicks-Lim, Political Economy Research Institute, expresses support for a proposed living wage ordinance in Sonoma County, Calif., that would cover in-home supportive service (IHSS) care workers. Higher pay for IHSS workers could “improve IHSS services and enable more low income frail elderly and disabled adults to remain living at home.” Said Wicks-Lim in a letter of support, “This would reduce government spending on nursing care facilities and give the state a financial incentive to re-negotiate its IHSS cost sharing arrangement.”
Arindrajit Dube, economics, comments in two stories about ballot questions that seek to raise the minimum wage in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. Dube has suggested that a way to localize minimum wages is to set them at 50 percent of the median wage for a full-time hourly worker. He also says raising the minimum wage by a moderate amount doesn’t cause job losses. (Slate.com, The Dish, 11/4/14)
Gerald A. Epstein, economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, comments in a news story about what could be expected from Janet Yellen, the chair of the Federal Reserve Bank. He says the key sign from Yellen recently was her signaling concern for workers, wages and inequality. That suggests she will focus on unemployment numbers when making key policy decisions, the story says.
Whatever happens election day, it’s Yellen’s economy _ Marketplace