Events 2011-2012

Global Policy Discussion, with Danny Quah

Tuesday 29 May 2012 , 6:00-8:00 pm
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building

Hosted by Global Policy and PricewaterhouseCoopers

A look at the role of export credit agencies and financial institutions in promoting global trade and the challenges they face during Europe's sovereign debt crisis.

Pedro Carriço is Head of International Relations and Country Risk Department at  Seguradora Brasileira de Crédito à Exportação.

Jon Coleman is Chairman of the British Exporters Association. 

Hans-Joachim Henckel is head of division at the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.

Peter Luketa is global head of export finance at HSBC Bank plc.

Geetha Muralidhar is executive director of Export Credit Guarantees Corporation of India LTD.

Danny Quah is professor of economics at LSE.

Lars H Thunell is executive vice president and CEO of International Finance Corporation.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #lseECA

Info: Event free and open to all with no ticket or registration required - further information from LSE Events.

End This Depression Now!, by Paul Krugman

Tuesday 29 May 2012, 6:30-8:00pm
Peacock Theatre, Portugal Street

Hosted by the Department

Paul Krugman, the recipient of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics, is a best-selling author, columnist and blogger for The New York Times. A professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University, The Economist called him “the most celebrated economist of his generation”.

In his new book: "End This Depression Now!" which he will discuss in this event, Professor Krugman shows how the failure of regulation to keep pace with an increasingly out-of-control financial system positioned the United States and the world as a whole, for the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s. Decrying the tepid response thus far, he lays out the steps that must be taken to free ourselves and turn around a world economy stagnating in deep recession. His is a powerful message: a strong recovery is only one step away, if our leaders find the intellectual clarity and political will to see it through.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #lseKrugman

Info: Event free and open to all, however a ticket is required - further information from LSE Events.

Recordings: Video recording on YouTube, Recordings on LSE Media page

Finance and the Good Society, by Robert Shiller

Thursday 3 May 2012, 6:30-8:00pm
Old Theatre, Old Building

Hosted by the Department

Robert J Shiller is the author of “Irrational Exuberance and The Subprime Solution”, and the co-author, with George A. Akerlof, of “Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy”, and “Why It Matters for Global Capitalism”. He is the Arthur M. Okun Professor of Economics at Yale University. This event marks the publication of Professor Shiller's new book “Finance and the Good Society”.

In his lecture, Professor Shiller will argue that the reputation of the financial industry could hardly be worse than it is today with the on-going financial crisis. Robert Shiller says he is no apologist for the sins of finance - he claims to be probably the only person to have predicted both the stock market bubble of 2000 and the real estate bubble that led up to the subprime mortgage meltdown. However in his new book, he argues that, rather than condemning finance, we need to reclaim it for the common good. He makes a case for recognizing that finance, far from being a parasite on society, is one of the most powerful tools we have for solving our common problems and increasing the general well-being. We need more financial innovation - not less - and finance should play a larger role in helping society achieve its goals.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #lsefinance

Info: Event free and open to all with no ticket or registration required - further information from LSE Events.

Recordings: Video recording on YouTube, Recordings on LSE Media page

LSE Growth Commission Evidence Session 2: Beyond GDP: Other Income Measures of Growth, with Tony Atkinson, Paul Schreyer, and Jean-Paul Fitoussi

Wednesday 2 May 2012, 10:00-12:00am
Institute for Government, 2 Carlton Gardens London, SW1Y 5AA

Hosted by the LSE Growth Commission

The LSE Growth Commission aims to provide an authoritative input to the development of a growth strategy for the UK. The commission will report within one year. Along the way it is taking evidence from leading figures from academia, business and policy.

In this session, Sir Tony Atkinson (Centennial Professor at LSE) (pictured), Paul Schreyer (Deputy Chief Statistician at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris), and Jean-Paul Fitoussi (Professor Emeritus of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and the LUISS, Roma; Research Director at the Observatoire Français des Conjonctures Economiques) will give their views on the best ways of defining and measuring economic growth, including distributional considerations and sustainability issues, drawing on state of the art academic literature.

Event information is available online at the LSE Growth Commision page.

Indian Democracy's Ferocious Faultlines, with Mukulika Banerjee, Patric French, Sunil Khilnani and Maitreesh Ghatak

Monday 12 March 2012, 6:30-8:00pm
Old Theatre, Old Building

Hosted by LSE IDEAS

LSE IDEAS are hosting a panel debate on the underside of Indian Democracy titled "Indian Democracy's Ferocious Faultlines". Professor Maitreesh Ghatak from the Economics Department will form part of the panel alongside other experts on India from the LSE and elsewhere. The panel will focus on the underside of Indian democracy, as visible in, among other things, the insurgencies in Kashmir; a Maoist rebellion in the heart of India; growing inequalities between rich and poor; and the massively high rates of corruption within government.

LSE Growth Commission Evidence Session 1: The Role of Skills in a Growth Strategy for the UK, with Eric Hanushek and Steve Machin

Wednesday 14 March 2012, 10:00-12:00am
Old Theatre, Old Building

Hosted by the LSE Growth Commission

In this session, Eric Hanushek and Stephen Machin will give their views on the role skills should pay in the formulation and implementation of a strategy to secure long-term growth for the UK, reflecting on lessons from international experience and state of the art academic literature.

Eric Hanushek is the Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. He has been a leader in the development of economic analysis of educational issues, and his work on efficiency, resource usage, and economic outcomes of schools has frequently entered into the design of both US and international educational policy.

Steve Machin (pictured) is Professor of Economics at University College London, Research Director at the Centre for Economic Performance, a member of the Low Pay Commission and Director of the Centre for the Economics of Education.

For further information please visit the CEP events page.

Saturday 25 February 2012, 10:00am-6:00pm
Old Theatre, Old Building

Hosted by LSESU Economics

The conference will play host to a number of eminent figures from the world of economics and finance.

One of the largest student-run economics conferences in Britain. Each year it brings together students, academics and professionals to discuss contemporary issues for the world economy.

For further information please visit the LSE Events pages.

Lionel Robbins Memorial Lectures: Climate Change and the New Industrial Revolution, by Nicholas Stern

Tuesday 21, Wednesday 22, Thursday 23 February 2012, 6:30pm
Old Theatre, Ground Floor, Old Building

Hosted by the Lionel Robbins Memorial Lectures

Five years on from the Stern Review there have been important changes in the world which are likely to have a profound impact on our response to the two defining challenges of the century, overcoming poverty and managing climate change. Lord Stern will discuss how we can bring economics and political economy to the analysis of our response to these challenges in the context of a special but difficult decade in the global economy.

Lecture 1 - Tuesday 21 February 2012
What we risk and how we should cast the economics and ethics

Lecture 2 - Wednesday 22 February 2012
How we can respond and prosper

Lecture 3 - Thursday 23 February 2012
How we can get there: building national and international action

Lord Stern is IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government at the London School of Economics, heading the India Observatory within the LSE's Asia Research Centre, and Chairman of LSE's Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. From 2005-2007 he was adviser to the UK Government on the Economics of Climate Change and Development, and Head of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #lselrml

Info: Event free and open to all with no ticket required - further information from LSE Events.

Recording: Recordings on LSE Media page

Maonomics: Why Chinese Communists Make Better Capitalists Than We Do, by Loretta Napoleoni

Wednesday 15 February 2012, 6:30-8pm
Old Theatre, Ground Floor, Old Building

Hosted by the Department

In this lecture, which coincides with the publication of her latest book Maonomics, Professor Napoleoni will argue that current global economic turmoil is the beginning of the collapse of capitalism and the victory of “communism with a profit motive” (Commi-Capitalism), that the balance of power in the world is shifting from West to East, and that the Chinese Communist economic model is winning out over the Western system.

Loretta Napoleoni is an expert on terrorist financing and money laundering, and advises several governments and international organizations on these issues. She also advises several banks on strategies to counter the current economic crisis. She is a regular media commentator for CNN, Sky and the BBC, and writes about terrorism, money laundering and the economy for several European national papers including El Pais, The Guardian and Le Monde. 

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #lsemaonomics

Info: Event free and open to all with no ticket or registration required - further information from LSE Events.

Recording: Audio recording on LSE Media page

Big Questions For Young Minds, by Danny Quah

A new online lecture which tackles big questions about the economy for a younger audience has been launched by LSE.

In "The LSE Big Questions lecture: East beats West? Is the East taking over the world?", Professor Danny Quah addresses the issue of the rising economic  power of China and other Asian countries and asks whether we should be fearful of this. Using audience-participation games, demonstrations, films and interviews, Danny explains what the economy is, why it matters, how global trade is changing the world and how we ill need to adapt to this.

Info: further information from LSE Events.

Recording: Video recording on LSE Media page

Lionel Robbins: A Life, by Susan Howson

Wednesday 30 November 2011, 6:30-8pm
Old Theatre, Ground Floor, Old Building

Hosted by the Department

To celebrate the launch of her outstanding biography of Lionel  Robbins (pictured), the Department of Economics is delighted to present a public lecture by Professor Susan Howson of the University of Toronto. This lecture will examine Lionel Robbins' public activities and demonstrate why he was such an important figure in the intellectual and cultural life in Britain in the twentieth century.

Info: Event free and open to all with no ticket required - further information from LSE Events.

Pillars of Prosperity: the political economics of development clusters, by Tim Besley, Torsten Persson, Francesco Caselli, and Robert Wade

Monday 7 November 2011, 6.30-8pm
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building

Hosted by the Department

Speakers: Professor Timothy Besley, Professor Torsten Persson
Respondents: Professor Francesco Caselli, Professor Robert Wade

This new book combines the tools of modern political economics with a bird's-eye view of the data, to explain development clusters, i.e. why some places that enjoy effective state institutions, the absence of political violence, and high incomes while others are plagued by poverty, violence, and low state capacity. The authors place the creation of cohesive state institutions at the heart of their understanding of these issues. They also discuss policy responses by the international community.

This event celebrates the publication of Pillars of Prosperity: The Political Economics of Development Clusters written by Tim Besley and Torsten Persson.

Timothy Besley (pictured) is Kuwait Professor of Economics and Political Science, Director of STICERD and Director of the Institute of Public Affairs at the LSE. His main research interests are in development economics, public economics and political economics.

Francesco Caselli is a Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at LSE.

Torsten Persson holds the Torsten and Ragnar Söderberg Chair in Economic Sciences at IIES, Stockholm University, and a Centennial Professorship at the LSE.  His research spans several fields, but he is most well-known for his articles and books on political economics.

Robert Wade is a Professor of Political Economy and Development in the Department of  International Development at LSE.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #lsepop

Info: Event free and open to all with no ticket or registration required - further information from LSE Events.

The World Economy: How did we get here and where are we going?, by Nemat Shafik

Wednesday 26 October 2011, 5-6pm
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building

Hosted by the Department

Nemat Shafik is the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, a position she has held since April 2011.

Prior to this Nemat was Permanent Secretary of the UK Department for International Development (DFID). She was chief executive of the department responsible for all UK development efforts including a bilateral aid programme in over 100 countries, multilateral policies and financing for the United Nations, European Union and international financial institutions, and overall development policy and research. Before her appointment as Permanent Secretary, she was Director General for Country Programmes where she was responsible for DFID's programmes across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.

Nemat Shafik was the youngest ever Vice President at the World Bank where she was responsible for a private sector and infrastructure portfolio of investments worth about $50 billion.

She has held a number of academic appointments at the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Economics Department at Georgetown University. Ms Shafik attained her BA in Economics and Politics from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and her MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She also holds a DPhil in Economics from St. Antony's College, Oxford University. She has authored, edited, and co-authored a number of books and has written articles for a number of publications. She was named "Woman of the Year" for Global Leadership and Global Diversity in 2009.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #lseeconomy

Info: Event free and open to all with no ticket or registration required - further information from LSE Events.

Recording: Audio recording on LSE Media page