The University of Massachusetts Amherst

Day: January 11, 2010

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Folbre

“Cheerynomics vs. Gloomynomics,” Folbre elaborates in Economix Blog

Nancy Folbre, UMass Economics Professor
Nancy Folbre, UMass Economics Professor

In her New York Times Economix Blog earlier this month, UMass Economics Professor Nancy Folbre light-heartedly proposes “a new taxonomy of economic approaches based on temperament.”

By NANCY FOLBRE

[excerpt]
 
Is this Gloomynomics?

Maybe our view of the world is too dismal even for the dismal science. It is a bit discouraging to believe that markets don’t work very well on their own and that government often makes their problems worse rather than better.

It is also a bit discouraging to believe that we are getting deeper and deeper into a terrible mess — not just a global recession, but a form of ecologically and socially unsustainable economic growth. 

On the other hand, this perspective generates a pretty urgent research agenda. And there’s some evidence that negative moods promote more careful thinking than “what, me worry?” optimism.

Categories
Badgett

Badgett: States ready to legalize same-sex marriage

M.V. Lee Badgett, UMass Economics Prof. & Dir. of CPPA
M.V. Lee Badgett, UMass Economics Prof. & Director of CPPA

M.V. Lee Badgett, UMass Amherst Economics Professor & Director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration, was recently quoted in an article on same-sex marriage titled, “Marriage was the story of the year in 2009.”  (DC Agenga, 1/4/2010.)

According to Badgett, the advancement of same-sex marriage is striking particularly in states that already allowed relationship recognition.  “I think the main thing that we learned is that states are ready to legalize same-sex marriage and it happened in several places that have civil unions or domestic partnerships,” she said. “Legislators realized, [at] the request of their constituents, that those statuses were not the same.”

Categories
Folbre

“Have Women Done It?” asks Folbre in NY Times Economix Blog

Nancy Folbre, UMass Economics Professor
Nancy Folbre, UMass Economics Professor

In her most recent New York Times Economix Blog, UMass Economics Professor Nancy Folbre challenges a recent cover story of  The Economist titled, “We Did It!  What happens when women are over half the workforce?”

January 11, 2010, 7:11 am
Have Women Done It?
By NANCY FOLBRE

[excerpt]

The Economist notes that women remain underrepresented in management positions but registers considerable optimism concerning current trends.

By contrast, recent research by the sociologists Philip Cohen, Matt Huffman and Stefanie Knauer showed that women’s entry into management positions in the United States slowed significantly in the 1990s.

The Economist also cheerfully asserts that “Men have, by and large, welcomed women’s invasion of the workplace.” Their choice of words is surely ironic, but I was left wondering how well women are represented on the staff of the magazine.

Categories
Pollin

Pollin interviewed by The Real News Network

Robert Pollin, UMass Economics Prof. & Co-Director of PERI
Robert Pollin, UMass Economics Prof. & Co-Director of PERI

Robert Pollin, economics professor and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, talks about why he believes there should be a federal tax levied on speculative financial transactions. He says such a tax would help prevent speculative bubbles in the economy.

January 6, 2010
The Real News Network
Tax the speculators and create a public bank