The Daily Bulletin Archive

The Economics and Finance Department will sponsor “Why Occupy Wall Street? A Symposium on Globalization, Unemployment, and International Finance” on Tuesday, November 15, during Bengal Pause (12:15–1:30 p.m.) in Bulger Communication Center South.

The official U.S. unemployment rate was 9.1 percent in September, while inflation was at 3.9 percent. Globalization has increased the economic integration of national economies over the last 30 years. The current state of the U.S. economy can be characterized as a jobless recovery. The Obama administration is faced with the daunting task of addressing excessively high unemployment in a period with calls for reduction of government debt coming from many sides. In addition, protests have spread throughout the United States and other countries over the increasing evidence of rising income inequality and the perceived culpability of large financial institutions for the housing crisis, the recent recession, the possibility of a second recession, the jobless recovery, and declining expectations. This symposium responds to a number of questions, including the following:

• Why is “Occupy Wall Street” capturing ever-increasing national and international attention?
• What has been the impact of globalization on national economies, particularly on the U.S. labor market?
• How has globalization affected income distribution?
• What is the relationship between recessions and crises in unemployment?
• How has globalization affected debt—personal, national, and international?
• What constraints does globalization place on national unemployment policies?
• What is the future of the American Jobs Act?

Presentations
Susan Davis, Associate Professor of Economics and Finance
“Macro Policy Effectiveness in a Globalized Economy”

Curtis Haynes Jr., Associate Professor of Economics and Finance
“Capital and the Abandoning of the American Working Class”

Victor Kasper, Associate Professor of Economics and Finance
“Are They Just Mean and Greedy? Or Are We Facing a Systemic Crisis of Capitalism?”

Moderator
Ted Byrley, CFA, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Economics and Finance