Denison University announces the launch of the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity, an independent public policy think-tank dedicated to the promotion of interdisciplinary research in the service of an improved quality of life for all members of society. The institute will disseminate alternative public policy solutions that address a wide range of socio-economic problems faced by the global community.
“The institute’s focus on sustainable prosperity and on improving ‘quality of life’ for all as opposed to a ‘standard of living’ means that we value people, the planet and the economy that we interact with rather than focusing on the kind of economic growth models that harm the environment and perpetuate unemployment and inequality throughout the world,” said President of the Global Institute, Fadhel Kaboub, who also is an associate professor of economics at Denison. His research focuses on the political economy of the Middle East and the fiscal and monetary policy dimensions of job creation programs.
Research Director of the institute, Mathew Forstater, said, “The Global Institute is committed to supporting approaches to economics and public policy that improve the lives of real people.” Forstater is professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Forstater was co-founder of the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability, and he served as director for its more than fifteen years of operation.
The Global Institute supports decent employment opportunities for everyone ready, willing and able to work at a socially established living wage as an institutional prerequisite for social justice and sustainable prosperity. The institute defines sustainable prosperity as encompassing the “physical, mental, environmental, financial, educational and civic wellbeing of all individuals, families, neighborhoods and regions throughout the world.”
“We are deeply committed to engaging with the general public, policymakers, and the mainstream media because we believe that we have practical policy solutions that none of the mainstream think-tanks offer,” says Kaboub.
Denison and the University of Missouri-Kansas City are associated with the Global Institute, which provides opportunities for undergraduate and graduate student work. “I look forward to working with students, faculty and staff to put Denison’s liberal arts values into practice,” says Kaboub. “The institute already employs four part-time research assistants at Denison and three full-time Ph.D. students in the economics department at the University of Missouri. We anticipate building partnerships with faculty experts and research assistants in economics, sociology, anthropology, psychology, communication, creative writing, history, environmental studies, women studies, cinema and beyond.”
The institute will host its first annual conference at Denison in October of 2015, which will bring public policy experts from around the world to interact with the community.
The Global Institute is funded by a generous grant from the Binzagr family, one of the oldest family businesses in Saudi Arabia. The Binzagr Group has been the exclusive representative of Unilever in Saudi Arabia since 1881.