Regarding job losses from globalization and previous free trade agreements, Folbre says, “Trade theory emphasizes that those who benefit from free trade should be able to compensate those who suffer, making everyone better off. What trade theory doesn’t explain is why the beneficiaries would offer such compensation unless they are forced to do so.” (Observer.com, 6/24/15)
Read Léonce Ndikumana’s article “Better Global Governance for a Stronger Africa: A New Era, a New Strategy” in Ernesto Zedillo (Ed.) Africa at a Fork in the Road: Taking Off or Disappointment Once Again? (pp. 315-330). Yale Center for the Study of Globalization (eBook edition).
Gerald C. Friedman says a California court ruling that a former Uber driver was an employee during her time with the company will encourage similar lawsuits in other states. He also says Uber has been successful because the driver, not the company, pays for fuel, insurance on the car and isn’t responsible for waiting time. (Marketplace [NPR], 6/17/15)
Deepankar Basu is quoted in a news article noting that while India’s economy has grown in recent decades – increasing incomes across the board – data broadly show that up until 2011 calorie consumption shrunk. (Wall Street Journal India, 6/15/15)
He also notes that the proposed changes would bring things back to 1975 standards when adjusted for inflation. Dube says the change would affect about 10 million workers. (Marketplace [NPR], 6/10/15)
A 2013 report by UMass Amherst economists Thomas Herndon, Michael Ash and Robert Pollin, which found serious errors in an influential paper on national debt by Harvard economists Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart, is cited in an article evaluating the future of austerity economic policies in the UK. (The National [Scotland], 6/5/15)
Research by Arindrajit Dube, economics, is cited in coverage of Los Angeles lawmakers moving closer to adopting a $15 minimum wage for the city. (Refinery29.com, 5/26/15)
Jeannette Wicks-Lim, Political Economy Research Institute, is quoted in an article examining the overall impact recent minimum wage increases have had on overall earnings in the U.S. (Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, 6/1/15)
The blowback on Harvard economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff caused when UMass Amherst economists found flaws in their seminal report on debt-to-GDP ratios in 2013 is noted in a news article detailing the increasing pressure on academics to make news headlines with their published papers, and the controversy that can arise when the papers are shown to be flawed. (New York Times, 5/31/15)