Political Economist to Discuss Prosperity of American Cities

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Political economist Barry Bluestone will speak on "The New Growth Theory and the Prosperity of U.S. Cities" at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 13 in 147 Diefendorf on the South (Main Street) Campus of the University at Buffalo.

The lecture, which will follow a reception at 5 p.m., will be free and open to the public. It is part of the ongoing Distinguished Lecture Series presented by the Office of the Vice President for Research at UB. Co-sponsors of Bluestone's lecture are UB's Regional Institute and School of Architecture and Planning.

Bluestone is Stearns Trustee Professor of Political Economy, director of the Center for Urban and Regional Policy and dean of the School of Social Science, Urban Affairs and Public Policy at Northeastern University. He has been instrumental in Northeastern's efforts to build a broad consortium of regional universities and colleges that tackle local social and economic problems.

Bluestone has written widely in the areas of income distribution, business policy, labor-management relations, higher-education finance, and urban and regional economic development. He contributes regularly to academic and popular journals, and is the author or co-author of nine books, including "Growing Prosperity: The Battle for Growth with Equity in the 21st Century" (Houghton Mifflin, 1999) and "The Boston Renaissance: Race, Space, and Economic Change in an American Metropolis" (Russell Sage Foundation, 2000).

Bluestone lectures and consults with various union, trade, industry and governmental groups. He served as executive adviser to the Governor's Commission on the Future of Mature Industries in Massachusetts. A founding member of the Nommos Consulting Group, Bluestone has helped develop multimedia productions used in training sessions for labor/management groups and for public school teachers. He is a founding member of the Economic Policy Institute, along with Robert Reich, Lester Thurow, Robert Kuttner, Ray Marshall and Jeff Faux.