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Blog postings by CEPR staff and updates on the latest briefings and activities at the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

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John Schmitt, Dean Baker, Mark Weisbrot, David Rosnick, and Ben Zipperer contributed CEPR publications to a new book, "Neoliberalism, Globalization and Inequalities: Consequences for Health and Quality of Life". Chapter titles include:
  • "Is Globalization Undermining the Welfare State? The Evolution of the Welfare State in Developed Capitalist Countries"
  • "The Scorecard on Development: 25 Years of Diminished Progress"
  • "Economic Efficiency versus Social Equality? The U.S. Liberal Model versus The European Social Model"
  • "Is the United States a Good Model for Reducing Social Exclusion in Europe?"
  • "Labor Markets and Economic Inequality in the United States Since the End of the 1970s"
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Dean Baker went to Charleston, West Virginia to talk with several members of the state House and Senate about the advantages of a state-run system of voluntary retirement accounts similar to the one that Washington State is implementing. Dean also testified before the U.S. Senate pension committee on the topic. In the evening, he spoke to an overflow crowd at a local bookstore about his book, The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer.
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A new book, Bad Samaritans, by CEPR Senior Research Associate and Cambridge University professor Ha-Joon Chang sparked a debate on development and macroeconomic policies on the Financial Times website. Economists including Edmund Phelps, Nobel laureate in Economics, Anne Krueger, former First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, and others wrote responses to a book review by Martin Wolf, Financial Times Chief Economics Commentator. Chang responded as well. Add a comment

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Mark Weisbrot spoke on freedom of the press in Latin America as part of a panel at a National Press Club event that included journalists from Mexico and Venezuela and representatives from the Due Process of Law Foundation and the Washington Office on Latin America. Add a comment

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Mark Weisbrot was invited to speak by the Heinrich Böll Foundation as part of the foundation's Summer School on Gender and Macroeconomics . He discussed the role of international financial institutions (IFI's) in the long-term economic failure of developing countries.
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Dean Baker debated C. Eugene Steuerle, senior fellow at the Urban Institute, on the questionable urgency of Social Security reform. The event, hosted by the Urban Institute, was very well attended and the two discussed such topics as spousal benefits, the role of health care costs, and increasing the age of retirement. Both agreed to promoting honesty and accuracy in the Social Security debate. Add a comment

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Over 30 DC-area residents (and some of their children) attended a screening of "The Motherhood Manifesto" co-sponsored by CEPR. Steffany Stern, National Partnership for Women and Families, introduced the film and gave an overview of proposed state and national legislation to set a minimum number of paid sick days for workers. After the film, Liz Chimienti moderated a discussion with Karen Minatelli, DC Employment Justice Center, on local campaigns to improve work/family balance, including the Paid Sick and Safe Days Act of 2007. Add a comment

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Heather Boushey testified in front of the DC City Council Workforce Development and Government Operations Committee on the impact of the Paid Sick and Safe Days Act of 2007, which would require employers to provide paid sick days to all workers in the District.

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At the annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE) in Copenhagen, Denmark, John Schmitt gave a talk on low-wage employment in the United States. The workshop he participated in, sponsored by the Russell Sage Foundation, compared low-wage work in the United States with the situation in Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Over 500 academics from Europe and the United States took part in the SASE conference. Add a comment

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Heather Boushey and Liz Chimienti traveled to Des Moines, IA where State Senator Jack Hatch and State Representatives Wayne Ford and Ako Abdul-Samad joined Elaine Ditsler of the Iowa Policy Project in releasing Bridging the Gaps in Iowa. Eight media outlets attended the press conference and stories have run in the Sioux City Journal, Quad City Times , Mason City Globe Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette, and Radio Iowa. Heather Boushey and Elaine Ditsler also discussed the findings in a meeting with state legislators and administrators, and in a workshop at the 2007 Iowa Community Action Annual Training Conference. A big thank you to Kristi Lohmeier of Iowa Policy Project for setting up these very successful meetings!

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Dean Baker gave a presentation on Corporate Taxes and Double Standards at the Taming the Giant Corporation conference organized by the Center for the Study of Responsive Law. He discussed how corporations and the wealthy have devised ways to avoid paying taxes and have changed the tax rules to their benefit — resulting in more taxes for everyone else. He was joined on his panel by Katie Redford, Co-Founder and US Office Director of EarthRights International, and Lucy Komisar, Founder of the Komisarscoop.com and co-chair of Tax Justice Network-USA. Add a comment

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Mark Weisbrot presented on a panel entitled Globalization: Understanding the Debate for the World Affairs Journalism Fellowships Orientation, sponsored by the International Center for Journalists. In his presentation, Mark discussed the importance of accuracy in reporting on economic issues and talked about some common misperceptions and biases in media reports on the global economy. He was joined by fellow panelist Joseph Quinlan, Fellow, Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Toby McIntosh, Managing Editor of the Daily Report for Executives, moderated the panel. Add a comment

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CEPR hosted two events with Pablo Solón Romero Oroza, Plenipotentiary Representative for Integration and Trade Issues, Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Relations. CEPR sponsored a press breakfast on May 31 and a public presentation on June 1, on foreign investment in Bolivia. Much of the discussion focused on Bolivia’s precedent-setting move to withdraw from the investment dispute settlement arm of the World Bank, the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). CEPR co-Director Mark Weisbrot introduced Ambassador Solón at both events and also provided background information on some of the issues.

The right of investors to sue governments directly, including for governmental regulatory actions that may diminish their profits, is a recent phenomenon, which the vast majority of such cases having been filed in just the last five years. It was a significant shift of power from governments to corporations, and one that some of the new democracies in Latin America seek to reverse, as they reclaim control over their natural resources and respond to the demands of their voters.

Among those attending the press breakfast were reporters from the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Associated Press, Washington Trade Daily, the Spanish News Agency EFE, and by phone from South America, Bloomberg News and CNN.

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Pablo Solón Romero Oroza (at right) sits down with journalists to discuss the investment climate in Bolivia, May 31, 2007.  At left is CEPR Co-Director Mark Weisbrot.

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Over 400 social scientists signed a letter urging Congress to continue funding the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). The President's FY08 budget would eliminate funding for the survey. The SIPP provides critical information on the effectiveness of Medicaid, Social Security, Food Stamps, unemployment insurance and other programs. CEPR coordinated the sign-on letter. Add a comment

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Dean Baker was in the San Francisco Bay Area to talk about his two recent books, The United States Since 1980 and The Conservative Nanny State. Add a comment

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CEPR co-hosted a conference on The 10th Anniversary of the Asian Financial Crisis with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. Mark Weisbrot spoke about the links between globalization and the financial crisis; John Schmitt chaired a panel on the global economy. Watch the video >

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Mark Weisbrot discusses the lessons learned from the Asian Financial Crisis, May 16, 2007.

johnschmitt10thasianJohn Schmitt moderates a panel with Nelson Barbosa from the Brazilian Ministry of Finance; Ilene Grabel from the University of Denver; and Worapot Manupipatpong of ASEAN.

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Mark Weisbrot is in New York today participating in the Cornell Global Labor Institute conference, A North American Labor Assembly on Climate Crisis. He's speaking on the panel, A Question of Balance: Work Styles, Working Hours and a Low-Carbon Future. Add a comment

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The Center for Economic and Policy Research has had a busy year so far! Check out the latest CEPR Update for highlights of our activities since January. Add a comment

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John Schmitt traveled to London to present at the European Low-Wage Employment Research Network (LoWER) Workshop on Migration, at the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) of the London School of Economics.  Together with CEP's Jonathan Wadsworth, he will lead an "Institutions and Immigration" session, and speak at a "Women and Immigration" session.  Click here pdf to see the conference's program. Add a comment

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Audio and video files are now available for two events on the IMF and World Bank hosted by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. See: Five Years of Extraordinary Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Argentina (Felisa Josefina Miceli and Mark Weisbrot) and Global Imbalances, Power Shifts and the Future of Multilateralism (Joseph Stiglitz, José Antonio Ocampo and Mark Weisbrot).

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Nobel Laureate economist and CEPR Advisory Board member Joseph Stiglitz speaks at CEPR's panel discussion on global imbalances, April 12, 2007

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Edmund Andrews, José Antonio Ocampo, Mark Weisbrot and Joseph Stiglitz respond to audience questions.

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Dean Baker discussed the current state of international lending and international financial institutions (IFI’s) as part of an opening panel at the Inaugural North American IFIWatchers meeting in Washington, DC. He was joined on the panel by Smitu Kothari, Intercultural Resources and Princeton University, and Bruce Rich of Environmental Defense. Manish Bapna, Executive Director of the Bank Information Center, moderated the discussion, which was attended by over 40 representatives of organizations working on IFI issues. Add a comment
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