The University of Massachusetts Amherst

Month: March 2013

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Badgett

Badgett in National Spotlight Over Gay Marriage Economic Research

M.V. Lee Badgett
M.V. Lee Badgett

M.V. Lee Badgett, professor of economics, director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration, and an international expert on the economics of same-sex marriage, has appeared in several media outlets this week, as the U.S. Supreme Court heard two gay marriage cases.

On Bloomberg Television’s program “Bottom Line,” Badgett spoke about the economics of denying same-sex couples the right to marry. She was also quoted in this Politico article about how marriage laws have a significant impact on health insurance coverage. In addition, this Washington Post piece about taxes and government spending quotes Badgett and refers to a 2009 Williams Institute study that she co-authored.

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Dube

Dube Testifies to Senate’s HELP Committee

Arindrajit Dube
Arin Dube

On March 14, 2013 Professor Arindrajit Dube testified at the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Hearing, “Keeping up with a Changing Economy: Indexing the Minimum Wage.” One of six witnesses, Dube testified that increasing and indexing minimum wage would reduce employee turnover and poverty. Watch the full hearing.

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Boyce PERI

Boyce on Economic Inequality and Environmental Pollution

James Boyce, UMass Amherst economics professor and director of the Program on Development, Peacebuilding, and the Environment at the Political Economy Research Institute,  is interviewed about the relationship between economic inequality and environmental pollution.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSnJuGZLYsA[/youtube]

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Boyce

Boyce publishes new book: Economics, the Environment and Our Common Wealth

James Boyce
James Boyce

In this new collection of essays, James K. Boyce explores the idea that the environment belongs in equal measure to us all; a clean and safe environment is not a commodity to be allocated on the basis of wealth, nor a privilege to be allocated through political power, but rather a basic human right. Building upon this premise, Boyce explores the many ways in which economics can be refashioned into an instrument for advancing human well-being and environmental health. Topics covered include environmental justice, disaster response, globalization and the environment, industrial toxins and other pollutants, cap-and-dividend climate policies, and agricultural biodiversity.

>> Read more about Economics, The Environment and Our Common Wealth

>> Order Economics, The Environment and Our Common Wealth from the publisher