Sweatshops and Third World Workers: Are the Wages Worth the Sweat? will be the topic of a WT Distinguished Lecture presentation featuring Dr. Benjamin Powell on Nov. 12, in Classroom Center 331. The lecture is set for 12:20 p.m. and is presented by the Distinguished Lecture Series, Economic Club and Happy State Bank.
“After a selection process the Distinguished Lecture Series Committee provides the funds to bring a speaker to WT. These funds come from students fees,” Dr. James Calvi, head of the Distinguished Lecture Series Committee, said. “We look for speakers of national prominence, who appeal to a large number of students.”
Dr. Powell earned his B.S. in economics and finance from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University. He is the Director of the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University, a Senior Fellow with the Independent Institute and the North American Editor of the Review of Austrian Economics.
“Because Dr. Powell´s unique work has been widely discussed and reported in media, I think this is a great opportunity for students,” Dr. Neil Meredith, Assistant Professor of Economics and sponsor of the event, said. “The event is open to all students.”
Dr. Powell is the author of more than 50 scholarly articles and policy studies. His primary fields of research are economic development, Austrian economics and public choice.
One of his most popular public lectures is “Sweatshops,” which will be the topic of his presentation at WT. In this lecture, Dr. Powell will present his thinking about sweatshops and how they provide a superior opportunity for their workers, other alternatives available to those workers and the role sweatshops play in the process of economic development that ultimately leads to the disappearance of sweatshops. He is currently finishing a book, No Sweat: How Sweatshops Improve Lives and Economic Growth, on the topic.
“Sweatshops have deplorable working conditions and extremely low pay—compared to the alternative employment available to me and probably you. That is why we choose not to work in sweatshops,” said Dr. Powell in his article, In Defense of “Sweatshops”.
Dr. Powell´s work has been reported in more than 100 popular press outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. He also has appeared on numerous radio and television shows including CNN, MSNBC, Showtime, CNBC, and he was a regular guest commentator on Fox Business´s Freedom Watch.
For more information about Dr. Powell´s lecture at WT, contact Dr. Meredith, assistant professor of Economics, at 806-651-2493 or [email protected]
