Category: Events

On Oct. 7, Professor Robert Pollin (economics and Political Economic Research Institute) will discuss his recent work in a talk titled “Austerity Economics is Bad Economics. What are the Alternatives?”

Harvard University economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff wrote a paper in 2010 that has been used to justify austerity policies across the globe. In their study, titled “Growth in a Time of Debt,” they show that high public debt is associated with lower economic growth. But UMass economics Ph.D. candidate Thomas Herndon recently discovered that this study contains major mistakes and shortcomings.

Earlier this year, Herdon, Pollin and Professor Michael Ash (economics and public policy) published a critique to the highly influential Reinhart/Rogoff paper, providing further evidence that the dominant austerity policy agenda in the U.S. and Europe is without viable analytic foundations. Building an alternative to austerity needs to begin from two first principles: full employment and building a clean-energy economy.

Pollin’s research centers on macroeconomics, conditions for low-wage workers in the U.S. and globally, the analysis of financial markets, and the economics of building a clean-energy economy in the U.S. In his most recent book, Back to Full Employment, Pollin argues that the biggest obstacles to creating a full-employment economy are political, not technical.

This lecture is part of CPPA’s fall 2013 Faculty Colloquium series, which consists of informal talks, often about works-in-progress, with presenters providing a significant amount of time for audience discussion and feedback. All talks will be in Thompson 620, from noon to 1 p.m. They are open to the public and brown bag lunches are welcome.

On Sept. 30, James Heintz will discuss his recent work in a talk titled “Gender Equality, Economic Growth and Human Rights: Where do we go From Here?”

Gender equality has featured prominently in international economic policy deliberations and discussions in recent years, often with an emphasis on how gender equality can boost economic growth and improve efficiency. But the reality is much more complex and this way of framing the debate overly narrow and misleading. Drawing on the thinking behind the Progress of the World’s Women 2014, a flagship publication of UN-Women, this seminar will examine conflicting ideas and controversies over the role of gender equality in economic and development policy.

Heintz is a research professor at the Political Economy Research Institute and an associate editor for the journal Feminist Economics. He has written on many economic policy issues, including informal employment, global labor standards, the distributive consequences of macroeconomic policies and human rights. Among the numerous international institutions and U.N. agencies with which he has collaborated on projects are the International Labour Organization, the U.N. Research Institute for Social Development, the Economic Commission for Africa, the United Nations Development Programme and the Human Development Report Office.

This lecture is part of CPPA’s fall 2013 Faculty Colloquium series, which consists of informal talks, often about works-in-progress, with presenters providing a significant amount of time for audience discussion and feedback. All talks will be in Thompson 620, from noon to 1 p.m. They are open to the public and brown bag lunches are welcome.

This fall, longtime media activist Pete Tridish will serve as a Social Justice Practitioner-in-Residence as part of the Five College Public Policy Initiative. During his stay from Sept. 23 through Oct. 5, Tridish will participate in several public events across the Five College campuses and throughout the wider Pioneer Valley.

Tridish was a member of the founding collective of Radio Mutiny, 91.3 FM Pirate Radio in Philadelphia, and a founder of the social justice media advocacy organization, the Prometheus Radio Project. He has helped to build dozens of radio stations around the United States, including Florence-based Valley Free Radio. By serving as a leader in major lawsuits, helping to rewrite federal regulations and working to pass federal laws re-allocating the radio spectrum, Tridish has been instrumental in creating opportunities for thousands of new stations.

He has organized numerous demonstrations and stunts, from a pirate march on the Federal Communications Commission to a Hula Hoop blockade of the National Association of Broadcasters. Tridish has taught radio trainings in 20 countries on five continents.

In addition to the public events listed below, Tridish will speak at classes and participate in some informal workshops during his residency. For a full list of Tridish’s events that are open to the public, click here.

• Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 4 p.m.
  A Radio Voice for the Voiceless (lecture)
  Campus Center 903, UMass

• Monday, Sept. 30 at 5:30 p.m.
  Media Justice Network Community Meeting (keynote speech)
  Free Press, 40 Main St. #301, Florence MA

• Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 5 p.m.
  Law Breakers to Lawmakers: How Pirate Radio Activists Changed the Laws to Open up the Airwaves (lecture)
  Media Education Foundation Community Room, 60 Masonic St., Northampton MA

• Thursday, Oct. 3 at 3:30 p.m.
  Radio Barnraisings: How we Gather a Community to Build a New Radio Station in Three Days (media activism workshop)
  WGBY Partyka Room, 44 Hampden St., Springfield, MA

The Five College Public Policy Initiative aims to enhance collaboration among Five College faculty and students who are interested in curricula, research and outreach related to public policy. The residency program was made possible by a generous grant from Five Colleges, Incorporated.

CPPA is the hub of interdisciplinary public policy research, teaching and engagement at UMass Amherst.

On April 29, Fidan Kurtulus will discuss her recent work in a talk titled “The Impact of Eliminating Affirmative Action on Minority and Female Employment and Occupational Representation: A Natural Experiment Approach Using State-Level Affirmative Action Ban Laws.”

Kurtulus is an assistant professor of economics. Her research explores a number of topics in labor economics, including the organization of workers within firms, workplace diversity, the impact of affirmative action in employment, participatory workplace practices and employee ownership.

This lecture is part of CPPA’s spring 2013 Faculty Colloquium series, which consists of informal talks, often about works-in-progress, with presenters providing a significant amount of time for audience discussion and feedback. All talks are in Thompson 620, from noon to 1 p.m. They are open to the public and brown bag lunches are welcome.