December 10 is Human Rights Day and the 67th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Each year the anniversary is commemorated by ceremonies and presentations at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The focus of this year’s presentations will include not only human rights but also economic development.
This year’s Human Rights Day will feature economist Lee Badgett, who published the first academic article on wage disparities faced by gay workers over twenty years ago. Last year she studied 39 emerging economies and showed that expanding LGBT rights could be part of a strategy to increase economic growth. Read more……
Month: December 2015
Oner Tulum, a visiting scholar in economics, co-authors a column examining Pfizer’s planned move to Ireland as part of a merger with Allergan. The piece challenges the company’s claim that low Irish tax are needed to help it stay competitive in drug research. (Alternet.org, 12/4/15)
Robert N. Pollin, distinguished professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, is interviewed about his recent book “Greening the Global Economy,” where he argues that it is possible to reduce greenhouse gases in the environment and still maintain economic growth. (Capitalandmain.com, 12/8/15)
A story on how farm suicides in parts of India can be linked to climate change and especially droughts, cites the work of Vamsi Vakulabharanam, economics, in discovering the link between cotton production, falling prices and debt for farmers. Vakulabhranam says the key is the behavior of money lenders who will give loans for cotton, but not for crops that can be consumed by farmers if they get into debt trouble. (Times of India, 12/2/15)