Evento

The Biggest Idea in Development That No One Really Tried

What: "The Biggest Idea in Development that No One Really Tried," Lecture by Michael Clemens, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development.

When: 7 pm (doors open at 6:15 pm) Thursday, March 10, 2011.

Tickets: $15.00, available online at Brown Paper Tickets, or in person at the Mercy Corps Action Center during regularly scheduled hours. $5.00 student tickets available with college I.D., also at the Action Center. (Visit www.actioncenter.org/portland for hours).

Where:Mercy Corps Action Center Gallery, 28 SW 1st Avenue, Portland, OR 97204; 503-896-5002.

Michael Clemens, named one of the "40 under 40" leaders in International Development, provides a critical perspective on the effects of foreign aid and global migration. He draws from numerous case studies and data sets, and uses empirical evidence to show impacts of migration on sending and receiving countries, while taking into account fiscal impacts on receiving countries like tax burden, and the fluctuation of wages. His results have shown that providing people from developing or poor countries more legal avenues to enter developed or rich countries is the most effective way of helping the worlds poor, by far.

Clemens knows that promoting immigration is an unpopular position, and he's well prepared to address this challenge: "I've learned to scientifically document every major claim I make about migration, so that I am not just one more cheap voice driven by emotion and ideology.I want to raise the level of the debate to a conversation about facts."

Michael Clemens is a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development where he leads the Migration and Development initiative. He has served as a consultant for the World Bank, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the United Nations Development Program. He has lived and worked in Colombia, Brazil, and Turkey. Dr. Clemens joined the Center after completing his Ph.D. in Economics at Harvard in 2002.