Philip Harvey thinks of himself as a human rights economist and is one of the world's foremost authorities on the right to work. In recent years he has worked closely with Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) designing and drafting legislation that would guarantee this right in the United States, as advocated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt over 70 years ago.�

Professor Harvey received his B.A. degree from Yale University, his Ph.D. in economics from the New School for Social Research, and his J.D. from Yale Law School. After clerking for the Honorable Robert L. Carter in the Southern District of New York, he worked as a litigation associate at the New York law firm of Debevoise and Plimpton. He also has been a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation, a visiting professor of law and economics at the Yale School of Organization and Management, and was the first Joanne Woodward Professor of Public Policy at Sarah Lawrence College.

Professor Harvey's research focuses on public policy options for securing economic and social human rights, with a particular emphasis on the right to work. In addition to the interdisciplinary course Unemployment and Its Remedies, he teaches Contract Law, Labor and Employment Law, Employment Discrimination Law, and South African Constitutional Law.