The Freeman Center has sponsored a bi-weekly workshop on global economic and other policy issues since 1991. Sessions are held every other Tuesday from 12:45 to 2:00 pm in the Stassen Room (Room 170) of the Humphrey Center.
Upcoming workshops:
December 8 – John Freeman on American Political Attitudes and Globalization
Next Workshop: November 27—Fionnuala Ní Aoláin on Gender and Post-Conflict Societies
Previous workshops:
November 10, 2009, Michael Barnett, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
"Paternalism: A Reconsideration"
Professor Barnett argues that paternalism is not a legacy of the 19th century but very much part of the present and future of nearly all kinds of action designed to promote the global good. He asks: Is this bad?
October 27, 2009 Kaye Husbands Fealing, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
"Incoming Foreign Investment and Race" The huge influx of capital-intensive foreign investment coming into the U.S. in recent years holds the potential to influence significantly domestic occupational employment patterns. While previous studies investigated whether inward FDI in developed countries targeted industries with workforces comprising a large share of skilled workers, there is a dearth of research on whether racial minorities benefited from foreign owners’ demand for high-skilled jobs. Do foreign owners have an incentive to engage in non-discriminatory employment practices? Does increased labor market competition from these owners influence the employment decisions of their domestic rivals? This study finds that FDI is associated with an improved probability of black employment in high-wage and mid-level-wage jobs versus low-wage jobs. These findings are interpreted to suggest that enhanced competition for US workers creates a business environment that can provide greater job opportunities for individuals from groups traditionally underrepresented in high-paying occupations. What do such findings imply for public policy?
Orville L. Freeman served as the 29th governor of Minnesota between January 5, 1955 to January 2, 1961. He went on to serve as United States secretary of agriculture from 1961 to 1969. Orville married Jane C. Shields in 1942 and the couple had two children.
The Freeman Forum is a non-profit organization created by the family, friends, and colleagues of Orville Freeman with the University of Minnesota to honor and carry on the work of former Minnesota Governor and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, who died in 2003.
Professor Robert T. Kudrle is the Orville and Jane Freeman Professor of International Trade and Investment Policy and Director, Freeman Center for International Economic Policy.
Areas of expertise: competition policy; tax policy; policy problems of globalization; international economic policy cooperation
Professor Kudrle also is an adjunct faculty member with the University of Minnesota Law School. He studies industrial organization, public policy toward business, and international economic policy. Much of his recent research has examined economic relations among industrial countries. He has served as a consultant and expert witness for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and as a consultant to the Internal Revenue Service, Canadian Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, U.N. Center on Transnational Corporations, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Agency for International Development, and Urban Institute. Kudrle has been vice president of the International Studies Association.
Center Director Robert T. Kudrle