The Structural Roots of Poverty: Theory Meets Practice, the fourth annual conference co-hosted by the Global Justice Program and Global Financial Integrity, took place February 14-16, 2013 in Yale’s Connecticut Hall.
The conference commenced on the morning of Thursday, February 14, with opening remarks from Thomas Pogge (Yale University) and a panel discussion on tax policy, which featured Reuven Avi-Yonah (University of Michigan) and Dan Reeves (formerly IRS) and was moderated by Anne Alstott (Yale University). Very regrettably, Stephen Cohen (Georgetown University) could not attend and participate in Thursday’s tax panel. Unforeseen circumstances kept him in Washington, D.C. However, he graciously sent his remarks to be read for him by Professor Alstott. Following the panel, Leonard McCarthy (World Bank) gave an address. The afternoon session opened with a panel on financial transparency, which featured Monica Bhatia (OECD), Jack Blum (Tax Justice Network USA), and Corinna Gilfillan (Global Witness), and was moderated by Tom Cardamone (Global Financial Integrity). Daniel Kaufmann (Revenue Watch) gave an address, and Raymond Baker (Global Financial Integrity) gave closing remarks.
Friday, February 15, featured discussion of priorities for development after 2015, when the Millennium Development Goals expire. Gilad Tanay (Academics Stand Against Poverty) provided opening remarks and moderated the first panel, which focused on governance and global institutional reform and featured Thomas Pogge (Yale University), Ignacio Saiz (Center for Economic and Social Rights), Atul Singh (Fair Observer), and Sam Worthington (InterAction). James Fishkin gave a midday address, and the day concluded with a panel discussion on the relationship between the post-Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals. This panel featured Bernadette Fischler (CAFOD) and Maria Ivanova (University of Massachusetts Boston) and was moderated by Mitu Sengupta (Ryerson University). Unfortunately, Wael Hmaidan (Climate Action Network International) was not able to attend the conference and participate in this discussion.
Saturday, February 16, was broken into two sessions, one focusing on global health and the other on climate change. The health session featured freestanding presentations from Amrita Palriwala (Open Society Institute), Thomas Pogge (Yale University), John-Arne Røttingen, and Mel Spigelman (TB Alliance) and was moderated by Zorka Milin (Yale University). Jeffrey Sachs (Columbia University) gave the keynote address, which focused on the post-2015 development agenda. The afternoon session, devoted to climate justice, featured Michael Gerrard (Columbia University), Tony Huydecoper (formerly Supreme Court of the Netherlands) Sébastien Jodoin (One Justice Project), Paul Joffe (World Resources Institute), and Jaap Spier (Supreme Court of the Netherlands), and moderated by Michael Dorsey (Wesleyan University). Thomas Pogge gave closing remarks, which focused on the overarching theme of strengthening global governance to combat poverty.
Several projects supported by the Global Justice Program were discussed during the conference. Academics Stand Against Poverty’s campaign to influence the successors to the Millennium Development Goals was discussed on Friday, and challenges and opportunities for piloting the Health Impact Fund were discussed by panelists and audience members on Saturday during the global health session.
PowerPoint presentations and video footage from the conference will soon be available on this site and at www.academicsstand.org.
The event was made possible through the generous support of the Edward J. and Dorothy Clarke Kempf Memorial Fund, administered by the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University, the MacMillan Center’s Global Justice Program, Global Financial Integrity, the Comparative Research Programme on Poverty at the University of Bergen, Academics Stand Against Poverty, Incentives for Global Health, and by the Orville H. Schell, Jr.
Center for International Human Rights Law at Yale Law School.