Sharing the podium were inequality scholar Branko Milanovic, former lead economist at the World Bank, and panel chair Anatole Kaletsky, a member of the governing council of the Royal Economic Society. Professor Vakulabharanam spoke on historical trends in income inequality in major Asian economies, and their divergent responses to profitability crises and effective demand crises. The conference, which took place at the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, was attended by several hundred leading economists from around the world.
Month: April 2015
Research conducted by Arindrajit Dube is cited in two columns in Forbes magazine and two news stories about the impact of raising the minimum wage. The two columns are about whether the earned income tax credit serves as a form of welfare for corporations that pay their workers low wages – an argument Dube disputes. In the news stories, Dube’s research on how modest increases in the minimum wage help lower the poverty rate is referenced. (Forbes, 4/21/15; Forbes, 4/20/15; Inquisitr; 4/18/15; New Republic, 4/17/15))
Research done by Robert Pollin, economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, and Jeannette Wicks-Lim, also of PERI, finds that increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.50 per hour would boost the cost of a fast-food meal by about 2.7 percent. (The Prince George Citizen [Maryland], 4/20/15)
M.V. Lee Badgett, economics and director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration, says recent events such as the controversy over Indiana’s religious freedom law show that in addition to discrimination by government for LGBT people, private sector discrimination is now also coming into sharper focus. She says removing government discrimination provokes a larger debate and makes LGBT people more visible to the society in general. (Washington Blade, 4/8/15)