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UMass Economics

Douglas Cliggott, a lecturer in economics, writes a column where he discusses why he thinks a tax on financial transactions would not only raise a lot of revenue, but it might also improve markets by reducing wasteful trading.

Douglas Cliggott, a lecturer in economics, writes a column where he discusses why he thinks a tax on financial transactions would not only raise a lot of revenue, but it might also improve markets by reducing wasteful trading. He says a $1 tax on each $1,000 traded and a 0.1 percent tax on actual payments made on derivatives contracts, would raise about $775 billion over 10 years. That’s an amount that could do a lot of social good, he says. (Bloomberg, 3/8/19)

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UMass Economics

A news story about legislation to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour that is moving through Congress includes a comment from Arindrajit Dube, economics.

A news story about legislation to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour that is moving through Congress includes a comment from Arindrajit Dube, economics, who has studied how minimum wage increases have affected employment. “I think the weight of evidence to date suggests the employment effects from minimum-wage increases in the U.S. have been pretty small – much smaller than the wage increases,” Dube says. “Thirty years ago, most economists expressed confidence that minimum wages had a clear negative impact on jobs. This is no longer true today.” (NPR, 3/6/19)

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UMass Economics

Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, comments in a news story about the Green New Deal legislation.

Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, comments in a news story about the Green New Deal legislation introduced in Congress that calls for “net-zero greenhouse gas emissions” through a 10-year “national mobilization” and the political controversy it has generated. He says it is good that this series of interrelated issues are being brought up but also says to accomplish these goals requires financial aid and retraining for people working in the fossil-fuel industries, which would shrink. “It needs to be done, and it can be done. But it needs to be done judiciously,” Pollin says. (The New Yorker, 3/4/19)

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UMass Economics

Research by Gerald Friedman, economics, suggests that Massachusetts will save $22 billion annually if a Medicare-for-all system is implemented.

In a regular column answering constituent questions, Sen. Jo Commerford cites research by Gerald Friedman, economics, who suggests that Massachusetts will save $22 billion annually if a Medicare-for-all system is implemented. (Daily Hampshire Gazette, 2/28/19)