L-R: Dr Jordan Claridge, Max Rangeley, Professor Joachim Starbatty, Dr Leigh Gardner, Professor Joan Roses
Academics from the Economic History Department LSE were invited to speak at the conference “The Lessons of Economic History”, hosted in the European Parliament, Brussels.
Professor Joan Roses, the current Head of Department, spoke about historical developments of regional inequality in Europe and what can be done about these issues. Dr Leigh Gardner spoke about economic development in Africa over the long term and what modern policy-makers can learn from this. Dr Jordan Claridge spoke about commercial practices in Medieval Europe, dispelling myths of the Middle Ages and looking at how developments during this period are relevant to economics today.
There was a lot of positive feedback, with several MEPs asking for more information on the topics discussed. The event was organised and moderated by Max Rangeley, who sits on the board of an economics think tank in Brussels. It took place within the Brussels Parliament building itself and was filmed by a professional crew.
A group of LSE students also attended the event and took part in the roundtable discussions. It was an interesting opportunity for the students to see how political issues are discussed within the European Parliament, and to visit some of its key areas. All in all, "The Lessons of Economic History" successfully showed the importance for modern policy-makers of understanding the development of economies over time.
More photos and the video from the conference can be found via this link: Economic History Department European Parliament Visit 2019
Text: Max Rangeley