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Political Economy Research Institute

Creating the Economy We Deserve: Game Changers Project

Under the leadership of PERI researchers Gerald Epstein and James Boyce, along with Juliet Schor, the Game Changers project provides a wide range of transformative progressive policy proposals for the U.S. economy formulated by nine teams of experts. These proposals include “The Wealth of Welcome: Immigration Reform that Works for America,” “America’s Workers Deserve a Four-Day Work Week,” “A Universal Basic Income for Children,” “Medicare for All,” “Democratize North American Trade,” “Housing as a Human Right,” and “No More Bailouts.” The full set of policy briefs, background papers, and video discussions can be found at https://GameChangersPolicy.org.

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A Four-Day Week for U.S. Workers

Juliet B. Schor

The U.S. workweek has remained unchanged for 85 years, despite a 4-fold increase in labor productivity. Juliet Schor describes how, as a result, American workers are on the job many more hours than workers in other wealthy countries and have among the highest stress levels in the world. Schor shows that many organizations can thrive with a 4-day, 32-hour weekly schedule. Employee well-being increases, and employers report improved company outcomes. Especially as the threat of AI-induced job loss looms, the 4-day workweek is realistic and necessary reform that benefits both workers and employers.

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Capital Flight from Resource-Rich Africa

Léonce Ndikumana

The unrecorded transfer of money—i.e. “capital flight”—is a global economic problem. PERI researcher Léonce Ndikumana and co-authors focus on the experiences of Cameroon, Ghana, and Zambia to explain how capital flight contributes to broader illicit financial flows. Deal-makers help private actors embezzle funds, evade taxation and exchange controls, and create shell corporations to disguise funds. The financial hemorrhage through capital flight creates major obstacles for African countries to achieve their development goals and even finance basic services. Ndikumana advances a workable program for controlling capital flight, in Africa and more broadly.

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Improving Child Health Outcomes Through Aid-Based Sanitation Investments

Lynda Pickbourn, Raymond Caraher and Léonce Ndikumana

Providing aid to the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector (WASH aid) in developing countries should generate a range of positive health impacts. PERI researchers Lynda Pickbourn and Léonce Ndikumana, along with Raymond Caraher, consider the impact of WASH aid on child health outcomes in Uganda. This paper combines data on the location of WASH aid projects with household survey data to examine the impact of WASH aid on the incidence of child stunting in Uganda. They find that proximity to WASH projects is associated with a 14–21% lower probability of stunting.

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