Mark David Brenner (born May 26, 1969) is an American author, journalist, academic, and consultant who writes on labor and workplace issues. Brenner was formerly the co-director of

Labor Notes --> Labor Notes is an American non-profit organization and network for rank-and-file union members and grassroots labor activists. Though officially titled the Labor Education and Research Project, the project is best known by the title of its mo ...

and was previously a professor at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

. He currently works at the Labor Research and Education Center at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

Education

Brenner earned Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and history from Wake Forest University, a Master of Arts in

international development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic or human development on an international scale. It is the basis for international classifications ...

from the

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

, and a Master of Arts and PhD in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

.Short biography of Mark D. Brenner
Policy Innovations (September 22, 2006) Retrieved January 11, 2011

Career

Brenner first became interested in the living wage issue when he was a graduate student in California and was part of a research team evaluating the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

living wage ordinance. He specializes in development and labor economics, particularly with regard to poverty, income distribution and low-wage labor markets. He was a

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

in 1998, working in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Brenner has consulted for the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

and the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

. Brenner was a professor of economics at the

and the Political Economy Research Institute.Book description and review
Cornell University Press. Retrieved January 11, 2011 He left in September 2005 to join the staff of Labor Notes. Brenner spent several years working with living wage campaigns around the country, as well as playing a leading role in his union in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. He currently covers Service Employees International Union (SEIU), teachers, higher education, and the living wage movement.

Selected books and publications

* Mark D. Brenner and Terry McKinley. ''Rising wealth inequality and changing social structure in rural China, 1988-95''. UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (1999) * Mark D. Brenner; Jeannette Wicks-Linn; Robert Pollin. ''Measuring the Impact of Living Wage Laws: A Critical Appraisal of David Neumark's How Living Wage Laws Affect Low-Wage Workers and Low-Income Families''. Working Paper Series No. 43, Political Economy Research Institute (2002) * Keith Griffin (Editor); Mark D. Brenner; Keith Griffin; Takayoshi Kusago; Amy Ickowitz; Terry McKinley. ''Poverty Reduction in Mongolia''. Asia Pacific Press (2003) * Mark D. Brenner. ''The Economic Impact of Living Wage Ordinances''. Working Paper 80, Political Economy Research Institute (2004) * Mark D. Brenner, Stephanie Luce. ''Living Wage Laws in Practice: The Boston, New Haven and Hartford experiences'' (2005)''Living Wage Laws in Practice''
(PDF) Policy Economics Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (2005) Retrieved January 11, 2011 * Robert Pollin; Mark Brenner; Jeannette Wicks-Lim; Stephanie Luce. ''A Measure of Fairness: The Economics of Living Wages and Minimum Wages in the United States'' ILR Press (2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brenner, Mark Living people Journalists from New York City American trade unionists Economists from New York (state) University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty 1969 births 21st-century American economists Wake Forest University alumni American University alumni University of California, Riverside alumni University of Oregon faculty