The University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Boyce PERI UMass Economics

PERI researchers release The Toxic 100 Air Polluters

James Boyce, Professor & Co-Director of PERI's Corporate Toxics Information Project

Researchers at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI)at UMass Amherst have released the Toxic 100 Air Polluters, an updated list of the top corporate air polluters in the United States. The list informs consumers and shareholders which large corporations release the most toxic pollutants into our air, said UMass Amherst economics Professor James Boyce, co-director of PERI’s Corporate Toxics Information Project.

Amherst, MA – Researchers at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst today released the Toxic 100 Air Polluters, an updated list of the top corporate air polluters in the United States.

“The Toxic 100 Air Polluters informs consumers and shareholders which large corporations release the most toxic pollutants into our air,” said Professor James Boyce, co-director of PERI’s Corporate Toxics Information Project. “We assess not just how many pounds of pollutants are released, but which are the most toxic and how many people are at risk. People have a right to know about toxic hazards to which they are exposed. Legislators need to understand the effects of pollution on their constituents.”

Read the full press release

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Alums PERI Pollin

Heintz and Pollin comment on tracking stimulus spending

James Heintz ’01G, assistant research professor at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) and Robert Pollin, UMass Amherst economics professor and co-director of PERI, commented in a story about the progress of the economic stimulus package.  Although you can track the spending through government websites, interpreting the data is “not the easiest thing,” admits Pollin.  Heintz points out that one problem stems from the fact that there are many branches of the state and federal governments administering the funds. (Masslive.com, 3/14/2010)

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Alums PERI

Garrett-Peltier in Dollars & Sense, “Is Military Keynesianism the Solution?”

Heidi Garrett-Peltier, Research Fellow at PERI

A column by Heidi Garrett-Peltier ’06G, research fellow at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), looks at the idea that increased defense spending to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan may help the damaged economy the same way any government spending is used when the economy falters. She says this “military Keynesianism” may work to some degree, but is an inefficient way to spend public money. Instead, she argues, spending on non-military projects creates more jobs and more positive economic impact. (Dollars & Sense, 3/8/10)

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Alums PERI

Heintz on Structural Deficits

James Heintz, PERI
James Heintz, PERI

On January 5, 2010, the Real News Network aired an interview with James Heintz (Political Economy Research Institute) in which he discusses how to address structural deficits in state and local governments as a way to deal with high unemployment. He says planning budgets in longer cycles and using federal funding to boost state economies can be helpful. View the video.