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Political Economy Research Institute

Fracking or No Fracking? How a Green Transition Can Work for Workers

Robert Pollin and Jeannette Wicks-Lim

Kamala Harris supported a fracking ban in 2019 but, along with Donald Trump, opposed a ban during the 2024 presidential campaign, on the apparent assumption that a fracking ban would impose major economic costs, in Pennsylvania especially. PERI's Robert Pollin and Jeannette Wicks-Lim demonstrate that large-scale clean energy investments in Pennsylvania generate far more jobs than current fracking operations and that a robust transition program for all displaced fossil fuel workers—including job, income, and pension guarantees—will cost only about 0.02 percent of Pennsylvania’s current GDP.

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fracking photo

Employment in Child Care and Early Education in the U.S., 2000-2021

Aritra Basu and Nancy Folbre

Accurate assessment of trends in the availability and affordability of childcare services in the U.S. hinges on accurate assessment of a paid labor force. PERI researcher Nancy Folbre and Aritra Basu show that, between 2000 – 2021, employment in the Child Day Care Services industry became an increasingly poor measure of the number of those employed in Child Care and Preschool/Kindergarten occupations, due to increased provision in both Private Household Services and Elementary and Secondary Education industries. These and related patterns demonstrate the need for improvements in labor force survey design.

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childcare photo

Do Alternative Households Improve Paid Employment Outcomes in Brazil?

Cicero Braga and James Heintz

PERI researcher James Heintz and Cicero Braga explore the labor market implications of household formation among same-sex married couples in Brazil, comparing them with different-sex married couples and unpartnered individuals. They provide a descriptive overview of same-sex households and analyze patterns of partnership formation, racial and educational endogamy/homogamy, and paid employment outcomes. They find that that same-sex couples may benefit from household formation by adopting alternatives to traditional patriarchal dynamics. Their results highlight the importance of recognizing diverse household structures to fully understand economic well-being and inequities.

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Brazil same sex couples photo

Class and Inequality in China and India

Vamsi Vakulabharanam

In this new book, PERI researcher Vamsi Vakulabharanam develops a comparative analysis of the patterns of growth and inequality in China and India between 1950 and 2010. He shows that the two countries’ experiences have been broadly similar since India achieved independence in 1947 and the Chinese Communists took power in 1950, even while China’s growth rate has been higher. Vakulabharanam gives special focus to growth and inequality patterns from a class perspective. He also analyzes inequality in these countries within the larger contexts of Asian and global capitalism.

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Class and Inequality in China and India book cover

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