Distinguished Faculty Lecture: How Green Growth Can Revive the Economy
Economics professor Robert Pollin will give the first lecture of this year's Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series.
Professor Pollin's talk is entitled "How Green Growth Can Revive the Economy." Pollin says the United States economy faces four fundamental threats: environmental problems, wage stagnation and sluggish job creation, dependence on foreign oil, and persistent trade deficits. Based on his ongoing research, Pollin will propose in his talk a unified approach to dealing with all four problems, focused on a major clean energy investment program to spur conservation, renewable energy development, and creation of millions of decent jobs.
Pollin joined the university in 1998 as a professor of economics and founding co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute. His research centers on macroeconomics, conditions for low-wage workers in the U.S. and globally, the analysis of financial markets, and the economics of building a clean-energy economy in the U.S. Most recently, he co-authored the reports “Job Opportunities for the Green Economy” (June 2008) and “Green Recovery” (September 2008), exploring the broader economic benefits of large-scale investments in a clean-energy economy in the U.S.
Pollin earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a master’s degree and doctorate in economics from the New School for Social Research in New York City in 1979 and 1982, respectively.
A reception follows each talk. Faculty members in the series receive a Chancellor’s Medal following their lecture. The Chancellor’s Medal is the highest honor bestowed on individuals for exemplary and extraordinary service to the campus. The lecture series is sponsored by the offices of the chancellor and the provost.
