Matthew P. Drennan, Income Inequality: Why it Matters and Why Most Economicsts Didn’t Notice

Abstract. Matthew P. Drennan, Income Inequality: Why It Matters and Why Most Economists Didn’t Notice (Yale University Press, 2015) deserves significant notice. The author focuses on theoretical approaches that might have shown the causes of income inequality with main attention to the theory of consumption, where the mainstream of the economics profession, after some attention earlier, turned away from inequality as a causal factor after the 1950s. He documents that turn, and suggests directions for a new theory. He gives brief mention to policy suggestions, but mainly concerns himself with causal issues on which policy would have to be based. Matthew Drennan has been a Visiting Professor of Urban Planning, Luskin School of Urban Affairs, UCLA since 2004. He is an Emeritus Professor, City and Regional Planning, Cornell University.Keywords. Income, Income inequality, Economicsts.JEL. D31, E01, E24, E25, H24, N30

Recent Cases of the Progressive City

What makes a city "progressive"? In this article Pierre Clavel defines a progressive city by documenting recent cases in cities across the country. Two dimensions underlie the progressive city movement: the desire for greater citizen participation and the desire for redistribution of wealth. Clavel describes how these dimensions were translated into successfu program initiatives in cities such as Berkeley, Santa Monica, and Chicago

Speaking Truth to Power? It Takes a Coalition

City planners, architects and their supporters often think of “speaking truth to power.” Typical examples are public works projects or real estate developments that look good on paper, but pose long run and less visible costs to a neighborhood or the city as a whole. Many note that speaking up in cases like this can be difficult, since their most important clients tend to have a lot of power, and can be selective in what “truth” they are able to hear. This is a dilemma that has dogged planners for a century. The usual response has been to suggest courage and persistence, with guidance offered through case histories of remarkable instances where truth-telling actually had an impact. However, there are relatively few such cases. In contrast, scholars have noted that the dominant “power” in cities in the past several decades is the “growth coalition,” consisting of real estate developers, architects, engineers, planners, newspapers and building trades firms and unions that gain from the construction and other accompaniments of “growth.” “Justice” is low on the list of priorities for these projects, or among the outcomes. Overall, the growth coalition is really, really powerful. In the face of this combination of forces, the idea that individuals can make a difference by “speaking truth to power” is just optimistic. Briefly, my premise is that the only way to compete with the growth coalition is to create a different coalition, and to find grounds for support in fundamental forces within the economy. I illustrate this with a story of both (a) an organizer, who found a way to make a difference; and (b) the forces around her, that created a semblance of a coalition, so that her efforts paid off, at least for a few years

Perturbations électromagnétiques conduites d'un bras d'onduleur à base de transistors en Nitrure de Galium: Structure « 3D » pour composants horizontaux

International audienceDans cet article une structure ‘‘3D'' à base de composant GaN est présentée. Sa réalisation proche des structures ‘‘3D'' existantes pour les composants Silicium tel que le concept PCoC donne la perspective de bénéficier des mêmes avantages vis à vis des perturbations électromagnétiques en mode conduit. C'est ce qui est vérifié dans cet article en comparant la structure ‘‘3D'' avec une réalisation d'une structure ‘‘2D''optimisée pour composant GaN

Viewpoints on Equity in Planning

In this piece, two planning experts provide their views on the role of planners in promoting equity in the planning profession. Includes: A Work Program for Equity Planners; Speaking Truth to Power? It Takes a Coalitio

Early Warning and Plant Closings in Chicago in the 1980s

During the 1970s and 1980s, plant shutdowns across the nation provoked a grassroots response, spearheaded by community and labor groups. This paper explores the history of one such response in Chicago: early warning systems, which were independent research networks that combined public and private information with worker knowledge in order to provide advance notice of a possible closing. Using primary sources, interviews with activists, and economic and political analysis of the time, the paper looks at the relationship between participating groups as well as the catalytic role played by the progressive Harold Washington mayoral administration. The local capacity generated during this time is viewed in the context of lessons for the current period of economic restructuring