In December 2010, the FAO food price index surpassed its previous peak of June 2008, and prices have been maintained at this high level through September 2011 (i.e. as of this writing). This pattern in food prices is creating justified fears of a renewal or intensification of the global food...

This paper explores the intersections between the current trajectory of globalization, changes to the structure of employment, and policies for maintaining opportunities for decent employment. There are numerous outcomes of these interactions, including higher levels of open unemployment, growth...

Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world, faces many challenges. But recent political stability, debt cancellation, and a strong developmental plan for the future embedded in the Madagascar Action Plan – in addition to Madagascar's long-standing advantages of great mineral and...

"Expanding Decent Employment in Kenya: The Role of Monetary Policy, Inflation Control and the Exchange Rate” is the first installment of the forthcoming full-scale study, An Employment-Targeted Economic Program for Kenya by Robert Pollin and James Heintz of PERI and Mwangi Githinji of the...

This paper explores the institutional factors behind the crisis of capital accumulation in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. Because of its focus on institutional stability, the paper contributes to the literature on the existence of an apartheid social structure of accumulation in which...

This report summarizes the findings of a UNDP-sponsored study on the structure of the financial sector, central bank policy, and employment outcomes in Ghana. The financial sector is the primary conduit through which monetary policy affects real economic outcomes, and monetary policy determines...

In this report examining the U.S. chemical industry, James Heintz shows that a shift to the production of chemicals that are safer for workers, the environment and human health can create jobs and new markets. The chemical industry has shed 300,000 jobs since 1992, and has under-invested in...

Pollin and Heintz examine the factors contributing to the recent run up in gas prices for consumers. They find that to a significant extent, this is the result of the economy moving out of a deep recession, into a recovery, which has increased the demand for gasoline. But a major additional...