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Restoring the American Dream: Insights from Big Data
The promise of the American Dream, once almost a certainty for the vast majority of children in the United States, has significantly diminished. Raj Chetty, a renowned professor at Harvard University and director of Opportunity Insights, delves into this issue with his talk, “The Science of Economic Opportunity: New Insights from Big Data.” Utilizing extensive […]
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Smart Money: Education Investments in Adolescents Earn Higher Returns
Caroline Hoxby, professor of economics at Stanford University and one of the world’s leading scholars in the field of education economics, says investing in education in early adolescents can have profound impacts on the continuation of learning through teenage years and beyond. More education leads to social cohesion, advancing economic opportunity, reducing inequality and decreasing […]
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The Future of Food and Agriculture in the Face of Climate Change
California is the top agriculture-producing state in the country, and that big business presents big challenges. California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross addressed many of the key issues during a speech presented by UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. Secretary Ross talks at length about the impact climate change has already […]
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Behind “Farm to Table:” The Labor of Farming
Did you know that the median age of US farmers is now is 58? And that the number of people actually farming now equals just one percent of the population? As farmers, chefs, food vendors and policymakers gathered by the Berry Good Food Foundation explain, those trends are not sustainable. So what to do? How […]
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Rising Inequality: Trends, Explanations and Solutions
Income inequality refers to the unequal distribution of income among a population. In the United States, income inequality, or the gap between the rich and everyone else, has been growing for the last several decades. Economist Valerie Ramey of UC San Diego gives an insightful talk charting the rise, fall and rise again of income […]
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Are Robots Going to Hurt or Help? Let’s Talk Driverless Cars with Jennifer Granholm
Imagine a not-too-distant future where gasoline-powered engines disappear and we all travel in electric, driverless cars that don’t pollute the air. And, a future where the actual number of cars on the road decreases because we’ll all participate in a transportation sharing service rather than owning our own vehicles. That’s the vision presented by former […]
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Food Justice: Economics, Ethics, Access
What a group! You know you’re watching something special when Dolores Huerta, the legendary co-founder of the United Farm Workers and Rose Hayden-Smith, the PhD author who writes the UC Food Observer blog are flanked by passionate leaders in healthcare, social justice, and organic farming – all talking about the policies and politics that lead […]
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What’s Next for NAFTA?
Will he or won’t he? After months of threatening to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement, whispers from the White House now suggest that President Trump may be backing off this prominent campaign pledge. But we’re still hearing about GOP support for a Border Adjustment Tax and other proposals that would fundamentally alter the […]
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Bernie Channeling Bob!
So, you like Bernie? Does his campaign pledge to address income inequality appeal to you? Then you should check out what former Labor Secretary Robert Reich has to say about how the basic rules of capitalism are stacked in favor of those at the top and what can be done to shape market forces so […]