February 1, 2012

Rebuilding the Middle Class

9:00 - 10:30 a.m
Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

In the State of the Union address, President Barack Obama challenged Congress to pursue policies that recognize that a strong middle class is the key driver of economic growth. He stressed that the United States will not have an economy that works until it has one that works for all Americans. At an event sponsored by the Center for American Progress, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee, talked about what he's learned from the series of HELP Committee hearings and events on the decline of the middle class, and outlined a policy agenda that puts the middle class first. Senator Harkin's remarks were followed by a panel of distinguished economists and policy analysts exploring how the middle class is a key engine of economic growth. The panelists included:

• Heather Boushey, Senior Economist, Center for American Progress
• Isabel Sawhill, Senior Fellow of Economic Studies, Brookings Institution
• John Schmitt, Senior Economist, Center for Economic and Policy Research

A video of the event is available below or after the jump.

February 1, 2012

Debate: Progressive Economics and the Great Recession

9:30 - 11:00 a.m
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
1101 K Street (Suite 601A)
Washington, DC 20005

The Great Recession has given way to a less-than-great recovery and the pressure is on for Washington to respond. ITIF President Rob Atkinson has taken on traditional Keynesians for pushing for additional public pump priming and for what he sees as their focus on distribution of the economic pie rather than the growth of the pie. But Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, rejects Atkinson's critique. The event was moderated by American Public Media's John Dimsdale.

A video of the event can be found below or after the jump.

January 30, 2012

What's the Economy for, Anyway?: Why It's Time to Stop Chasing Growth and Start Pursuing Happiness

6:30 - 8 p.m.
Busboys and Poets
2021 14th St NW
Washington, D.C. 20009

Activist John de Graaf discussed and signed copies of his new book, "What's the Economy For, Anyway?: Why It's Time to Stop Chasing Growth and Start Pursuing Happiness," at the 14th and U Street Busboys and Poets. The event was sponsored by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Teaching for Change and Busboys and Poets. More information on the book can be found here.

January 25, 2012

CEPR: Haiti Events on the Hill

Rayburn House Office Building
45 Independence Ave SW
Washington, D.C.

CEPR's Mark Weisbrot participated in a series of congressional panels on Haiti on the Hill — part of a Congressional Schedule of Events that took place Jan. 24-25.

January 24, 2012

Author Event, "Tectonic Shifts: Haiti Since the Earthquake"

6:30 p.m.
Busboys and Poets
2021 14th St NW
Washington, D.C. 20009

Editor Mark Schuller discussed the new book, "Tectonic Shifts: Haiti Since the Earthquake," which features chapters written by CEPR Co-Director Mark Weisbrot and research assistant Jake Johnston. The event was sponsored by TransAfrica Forum, the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Teaching for Change and Busboys and Poets.

January 24, 2012

CEPR: Haiti Events on the Hill

Rayburn House Office Building
45 Independence Ave SW
Washington, D.C.

CEPR's Mark Weisbrot participated in a series of congressional panels on Haiti on the Hill — part of a Congressional Schedule of Events that took place Jan. 24-25.

January 19, 2012

Looking Ahead: State Leaders, National Experts Separate Fact From Fiction on Public Pensions

11:00 a.m.
The National Press Club
529 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20045

CEPR Co-Director Dean Baker took part in a briefing sponsored by the National Public Pension Coalition to address the unprecedented number of proposals in states to chip away at the foundations of America’s public pension systems. The briefing separated fact from fiction on budget and policy proposals regarding defined benefit pensions and experts explained how recent proposals to diminish retirement security will affect millions of teachers, cops, firefighters and other dedicated public servants. The event also featured a recent retiree from Rhode Island whose story underscores the danger of pension-cutting plans in the states and from those in Congress by Senator Orrin Hatch.

January 6, 2012

American Economic Association, Annual Meetings, January 5-8, 2012 Chicago

10:15 a.m.
Swissotel Chicago
323 East Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60601

The Economics of Regime Change (Panel Discussion)

Panel Moderator: Richard Kaufman (Bethesda Research Group)

Roger Myerson (University of Chicago) Local Foundations for Strong Democracy

Linda Bilmes (Harvard University) The True Cost of the Afghanistan and Iraq Conflicts: An Analysis of the Ten Years from 2001-2011

Hamid Ali (American University in Cairo) The Economics of the Arab Spring: A View from Egypt

Jennifer Olmsted (Drew University) Women in Transitions

Mark Weisbrot (Center for Economic and Policy Research)   Report from the South American Spring

December 16, 2011

Lessons on Low-Wage Work from the Wealthy World

1:30 p.m. - 1:55 p.m.
Korea Labor Institute
Wolfson Theater
30, Eunhaeng-ro
Yeongdeungpo-gu
Seoul, Korea, 150-740

CEPR Senior Economist John Schmitt presented the paper "Lessons on Low-Wage Work from the Wealthy World" as part of the conference "Welfare States’ Response to Labor Market Dualism and The Working Poor," organized by the Korea Labor Institute (KLI) NRF-SSK of Center for Peace and Public Integrity at Hansin University. For more information, visit the event's website.

December 13, 2011

Financial Capitalism and Collateral Damage: Cadbury, EMI, Mervyn’s, and Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
London School of Economics
Wolfson Theater
Houghton Street
London, United Kingdom

CEPR Senior Economist Eileen Appelbaum, Rosemary Batt of Cornell University, and Ian Clark of the University of Birmingham presented their coauthored paper, "Financial Capitalism and Collateral Damage," at the 50th Anniversary Conference of the British Journal of Industrial Relations, which was held at the London School of Economics, Wolfson Theatre. The conference agenda can be found here.

Presentation - PPTX