Child care policy addressed by visiting economist
Oct. 1, 2000
KALAMAZOO -- An economist known for integrating economic thought with responsible social policy will examine child care policy in a public presentation at Western Michigan University Wednesday, Oct. 11.
Dr. Barbara R. Bergmann, professor emerita of economics at both the University of Maryland and American University, will speak on the topic of "Thinking about Child Care Policy" at 3 p.m. in Room 3508 of Knauss Hall. Her presentation is part of the ongoing Werner Sichel Lecture Seminar Series on "The Economics of Work and Family" and is free and open to the public.
Bermann's current research focuses on child care, welfare and poverty, women's place in the economy and the family, and the labor market problems encountered by women and African Americans. Long an advocate of social responsibility in economic policy, she is the author or co-author of numerous books, including her most recent, "What Child Care System for America?," as well as "Is Social Security Broke?: A Cartoon Guide to the Issues." Other books by Bergmann include "In Defense of Affirmative Action," "What the United States Can Learn from France" and "The Economic Emergence of Women." In the early 1980s, Bergmann wrote a monthly column on economic affairs for The New York Times.
In addition to her academic pursuits, Bergmann has a long record of public service, including serving as senior staff economist on the Council of Economic Advisors to President John F. Kennedy, as a member of the senior staff at the Brookings Institution and as an economist at the New York regional Office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Bergmann is the second speaker in this year's Werner Sichel Economics Lecture-Seminar Series. The annual series, now in its 37th year, is named for Dr. Werner Sichel, chairperson of the Department of Economics, who started the series and has served WMU for 40 years.
The Department of Economics and the College of Arts and Sciences co-sponsor the series with the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Co-directing the series are Dr. Emily P. Hoffman, WMU professor of economics, and Dr. Jean Kimmel, senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
The next speaker scheduled for the series is Dr. Cordelia W. Reimers, professor of economics at Hunter College and City University of New York, who will address "Parents' Work Time and the Family: 30 Years of Change," at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15, in Room 3508 of Knauss Hall.
For more information, contact Hoffman at (616) 387-5546 or <emily.hoffman@wmich.edu>; or Kimmel at (616) 385-0435 or <kimmel@we.upjohninst.org>; or call the Department of Economics at (616) 387-5535.
Media contact: Marie Lee, 616 387-8400, marie.lee@wmich.edu