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Robert Pollin - University of Massachusetts Amherst. Amherst, MA, US

Robert Pollin

Distinguished Professor of Economics and Co-Director of Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) | University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, MA, UNITED STATES

Robert Pollin's research centers on macroeconomics and the economics of building a clean-energy economy in the U.S and globally.

Expertise (5)

Green Economy

Clean Energy Economics

Green Jobs

Green New Deal

Conditions for Low-Wage Workers

Biography

Robert Pollin's 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 and globally.

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Publications:

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Videos:

Social Science Matters: Robert Pollin, Distinguished Professor of Economics Macroeconomic Policy in the Shadow of the Great Financial Crisis Trump Calls COVID-19 “Foreign Virus” as Lack of Universal Healthcare Makes the Pandemic Worse

Audio/Podcasts:

Education (3)

New School for Social Research: Ph.D., Economics

New School for Social Research: M.A., Economics

University of Wisconsin-Madison: B.A., History

Select Media Coverage (7)

Americans Have Already Lived Through a Shutdown

The Nation  online

2023-09-29

Robert Pollin, co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, comments on how limits to Biden’s economic programs leave working families vulnerable in a government shutdown. “The American Rescue Act, the IRA, and CHIPS—25 percent of all three bills is going to road repair, road construction, and bridges. There are good climate provisions there, but there’s nothing for sustaining the family investments in the American Rescue Act, and that could have been integrated into this,” he says.

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Is a Livable Future Still Possible? Chomsky and Pollin Discuss the IPCC Report.

Truthout  online

2023-04-03

In this exclusive interview, Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin offer remarkable insights on what the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report means, and implications for action, on both the political and financial front.

robert pollin and noam chomsky

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No Evidence to Support FED 2% Inflation Target – Robert Pollin

theAnalysis.news  online

2023-01-19

The inflation conference at Political Economy Research Institute at UMass Amherst (PERI) presented mounting evidence that raising the rate of interest will only raise unemployment and weaken the bargaining power of low-wage workers and the poor that are already hit hard by the pandemic across the world. Robert Pollin joins Sharmini Peries on theAnalysis.news.

robert pollin

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Rising Interest Rates Intended to Create Unemployment – An Interview withBob Pollin

TheAnalysis.news  online

2022-07-08

Robert Pollin is interviewed about central banks raising interest rates to create more desperation among workers and weaken their bargaining power.

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The Political Economy of Saving the Planet

Boston Review  online

2020-09-16

Robert Pollin and economist colleague Noam Chomsky discuss prospects for change, the connections between climate and the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether eco-socialism is a viable option for mobilizing people in the struggle to create a green future.

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Trump Calls COVID-19 “Foreign Virus” as Lack of Universal Healthcare Makes the Pandemic Worse

Demoncracy Now!  online

2020-03-12

In a video interview, Robert Pollin, distinguished university professor of economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, says the lack of universal healthcare in the U.S. is exacerbating the coronavirus crisis due to “the absurdity that people cannot feel confident that they are going to get medical treatment” when they need it most.

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The Legal and Economics Aspects of the Coronavirus Epidemic

KPFA  radio

2020-03-10

Robert Pollin, is interviewed on a radio program about the legal and economic aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak. (Pollin begins at 29:30)

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Select Publications (5)

Neoliberalism’s Bailout Problem

Boston Review

Gerald Epstein and Robert Pollin

2021-06-24

UMass Amherst economists Robert Pollin and Gerald Epstein write about the role that government bailouts play in neoliberalism.

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Wanted: Shovel-Ready Projects for a Green New Deal

The Nation

Robert Pollin

2020-04-09

"In advancing a Green New Deal for the United States under current conditions, it is important to take seriously issues around how best to time the launch various components of the overall project."

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The Deficit Is Exploding! And That’s a Good Thing.

The Nation

Robert Pollin

2020-04-09

"One huge question about the stimulus package that nobody seems to be asking is: Where does the money come from to pay for it?" Robert Pollins says the fact that nobody’s asking where the money is coming from shows how much our politics have changed since 2008.

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Green Economics and Decent Work: A Viable Unified Framework

International Labour Organization (ILO) Report :"Greening with Jobs"

Robert Pollin

2019-12-19

The 2018 International Labour Organization (ILO) report Greening with Jobs, part of their World Employment and Social Outlook series, could not possibly be focused on a more critical issue. This is because climate change literally represents an existential threat to life on earth as we know it. ...

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The Case for Medicare for All

The Wall Street Journal

Robert Pollin

2019-03-28

A single-payer, “Medicare for all,” health insurance system in the U.S. could finance good-quality coverage for all residents while reducing health-spending by about 10 percent, writes Robert Pollin, distinguished professor of economics at UMass Amherst and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute.

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