Search results for ""Author Robert Pollin""

This volume of new, original essays reflects the lifelong concerns and writings of the person they honor, Professor Howard Sherman. Sherman wrote on a wide range of topics - the causes of recessions, depressions and mass unemployment under capitalism; the difficulties and challenges of establishing viable democratic planning systems under socialism; the down-to-earth realities of economic life in the United States, the Soviet Union and elsewhere; and the theoretical traditions he drew upon to inform these empirical studies, i.e. Keynesianism, institutionalism and, most especially, Marxism. The contributors follow in Sherman's tradition through their careful analysis of topics such as the long-term trends in contemporary global capitalism; the relationship between Marxism and institutionalism; debates over the usefulness of class analysis; the political economy of financial liberalization; lessons from the demise of socialism in the Soviet Union and China; and the possibilities for advancing a workable egalitarian economic agenda.This book demonstrates the continued vibrancy and relevance of radical political economy as a mode of social scientific analysis. Scholars and students in economics, sociology, history, philosophy and political science will find the essays thought-provoking and informative.

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This volume presents a collection of essays honoring Professor Thomas E. Weisskopf, one of the most prominent contributors to the field of radical economics. Beginning his academic career at Harvard before moving to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Professor Weisskopf has spent the past forty years exploring through highly innovative and rigorous research the questions of economic equality, social justice and environmental responsibility. The chapters in this book reflect the main subjects of Professor Weisskopf's work and seek to foster continued innovation in these research areas.The diverse contributions to this volume explore the impressive range of Professor Weisskopf's research themes. These include the economics of developing countries, US imperialism, Marxian crisis theory, contemporary economic history and institutional development, affirmative action policies, and the potential of socialism as an alternative to capitalism for developing non-exploitative societies. In addition to 26 chapters by leading economists, this book also includes a chapter by Professor Weisskopf himself, in which he reflects on his own career in economics as well as the state of the U.S. and global economies. The volume also includes a full bibliography listing Professor Weisskopf's publications. Students, professors and researchers working in any branch of economics will find much of interest in this set of wide-ranging studies building from the themes advanced by Thomas Weisskopf.Contributors include: R. Albelda, M. Ash, S. Bowles, J.K. Boyce, J. Crotty, W. Darity Jr, A. Deshpande, G. Epstein, D. Flaherty, N. Folbre, J. Heintz, S. Khan, K. Knight, D.M. Kotz, H.A. Lee, M. Li, A. MacEwan, E. McCrate, J. Miller, F. Moseley, R. Pollin, M. Reich, E.A. Rosa, J.B. Schor, G.L. Skillman, F. Thompson, M. Weisbrot, T. Weisskopf, J. Wicks-Lim, A. Zimbalist

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The environmental crisis under way is unique in human history. It is a true existential crisis. Those alive today will decide the fate of humanity. Meanwhile, the leaders of the most powerful state in human history are dedicating themselves with passion to destroying the prospects for organized human life. At the same time, there is a solution at hand, which is the Green New Deal. Putting meat on the bones of the Green New Deal starts with a single simple idea: we have to absolutely stop burning fossil fuels to produce energy within the next 30 years at most; and we have to do this in a way that also supports rising living standards and expanding opportunities for working people and the poor throughout the world. This version of a Green New Deal program is, in fact, entirely realistic in terms of its purely economic and technical features. The real question is whether it is politically feasible. Chomsky and Pollin examine how we can build the political force to make a global Green New Deal a reality.

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The Kenyan economy has experienced improved economic growth in recent years, and the government has maintained a commitment to generating 500,000 new jobs per year. But the country still faces severe problems of poverty-level employment - people working full-time yet living with their families in poverty. This study develops detailed proposals for greatly expanding decent employment opportunities in Kenya, and to accomplish this in a manner that also creates a wide range of employment and business opportunities, including those for small and medium-sized enterprises, agricultural small holders, commercial banks, and microfinance institutions.

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The people of South Africa, and the African National Congress-led government, have made extraordinary social and economic advances since ending apartheid and beginning the transition to democracy in 1994. But the country still faces severe problems of mass unemployment, underemployment and poverty. This study, sponsored by the United Nations Development Program, presents a detailed economic program designed to produce major reductions in unemployment and poverty, and a general spreading of economic well-being, and to achieve these ends in a manner that is sustainable over a longer-term framework. The 'employment-targeted' program developed here builds from standard policy tools and initiatives already undertaken by the government in the areas of macroeconomic policy, development banking and large-scale credit subsidies, labor-intensive public investments, and social welfare expenditures. The authors introduce these measures alongside specific proposals in the areas of fiscal budgetary control, inflation control and exchange rate management. Students and scholars of development economics will find this analysis of South Africa's economy, and the authors' plan for stimulating job growth, of great interest.

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