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Lucia Pradella studied Philosophy, Social Sciences and Migration Studies at the University of Venice Ca' Foscari and the Humboldt University in Berlin. She collaborated with the project of historical-critical edition of Marx's and Engels's complete works at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. After completing her PhD on globalisation and the history of political economy using that edition (jointly at the University of Naples Federico II and Paris X Nanterre), she conducted a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship in Sociology of Economic Processes and Work at Ca' Foscari. She taught in the areas of International Political Economy, Migration, and Welfare Policies at Brunel, SOAS and Ca' Foscari. She is a Research Associate in the SOAS Department of Development Studies and in the Centre for the Global Political Economy at the University of Sussex, and member of the Laboratory for Social Research at Ca' Foscari. She joined King's as a lecturer in International Political Economy in 2015. Subscribe to our newsletter todayA note from Lev:I am a high school teacher of history and economics at a public high school in NYC, and began the podcast to help demystify political economy for teachers. The podcast is now within the top 2% of podcasts worldwide in terms of listeners (per Listen Notes) and individual episodes are frequently listed by The Syllabus (the-syllabus.com) as among the 10 best political economy podcasts of a particular week. The podcast is reaching thousands of listeners each month. The podcast seeks to provide a substantive alternative to mainstream economics media; to communicate information and ideas that contribute to equitable and peaceful solutions to political and economic issues; and to improve the teaching of high school and university political economy. Best, Lev
Lucia Pradella studied Philosophy, Social Sciences and Migration Studies at the University of Venice Ca' Foscari and the Humboldt University in Berlin. She collaborated with the project of historical-critical edition of Marx's and Engels's complete works at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. After completing her PhD on globalisation and the history of political economy using that edition (jointly at the University of Naples Federico II and Paris X Nanterre), she conducted a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship in Sociology of Economic Processes and Work at Ca' Foscari. She taught in the areas of International Political Economy, Migration, and Welfare Policies at Brunel, SOAS and Ca' Foscari. She is a Research Associate in the SOAS Department of Development Studies and in the Centre for the Global Political Economy at the University of Sussex, and member of the Laboratory for Social Research at Ca' Foscari. She joined King's as a lecturer in International Political Economy in 2015. Donate TodayA note from Lev:I am a high school teacher of history and economics at a public high school in NYC, and began the podcast to help demystify economics for teachers. The podcast is now within the top 2.5% of podcasts worldwide in terms of listeners (per Listen Notes) and individual episodes are frequently listed by The Syllabus (the-syllabus.com) as among the 10 best political economy podcasts of a particular week. The podcast is reaching thousands of listeners each month. The podcast seeks to provide a substantive alternative to mainstream economics media; to communicate information and ideas that contribute to equitable and peaceful solutions to political and economic issues; and to improve the teaching of high school and university political economy. I am looking to be able to raise money in order to improve the technical quality of the podcast and website and to further expand the audience through professionally designed social media outreach. I am also hoping to hire an editor. Our goal is to raise $12,000 this year. If you can donate a few dollars each month it will help us reach that goal. And if you know of a family foundation that might be interested in donating to A Correction please be in touch. Thank you! (And a huge thank you to all of the people who have already supported the podcast!)Best, Lev
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speakers: Lyn Ossome, Makerere University & Crystal Simeoni,Crystal Simeoni, Nawi: Afrifem Macroeconomics Collective Moderator: Sonia Phalatse, Institute for Economic Justice in South Africa & Taibat Aduragba Hussain, SOAS University of London Organiser: Yannis Dafermos, Sara Stevano, Marie Hyllested Meyle, Anna Vergnano and Glennie Moore
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speaker: Victoria Stadheim, University of Winchester Moderator: Madhav Ramachandran, SOAS University of London
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speaker: Jayati Ghosh, Jawaharlal Nehru University Moderator: Rucha Takle
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speaker: Keston Perry, UWE Bristol Moderator: Julian Boys, SOAS University of London Organiser: Yannis Dafermos, Sara Stevano, Marie Hyllested Meyle, Anna Vergnano and Glennie Moore Contact email: yannis.dafermos@soas.ac.uk
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speaker: Carolina Alves, University of Cambridge & Farwa Sial, University of Manchester Moderator: Manvi Laddha, SOAS University of London Organiser: Yannis Dafermos, Sara Stevano, Marie Hyllested Meyle, Anna Vergnano and Glennie Moore Contact email: yannis.dafermos@soas.ac.uk
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speaker: Ourania Dimakou, SOAS University of London Moderator: Oliver Tipton, SOAS University of London Organiser: Yannis Dafermos, Sara Stevano, Marie Hyllested Meyle, Anna Vergnano and Glennie Moore Contact email: yannis.dafermos@soas.ac.uk
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speakers: Josh Ryan-Collins, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose & Rachel White, London Renters Union Moderator: Liam Mullany, previously of Rethinking Economics Greenwich Organiser: Yannis Dafermos, Sara Stevano, Marie Hyllested Meyle and Anna Vergnano Contact email: yannis.dafermos@soas.ac.uk
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speaker: Nina Banks, Bucknell University Moderator: Justin Kwame Kanzah-Andoh, SOAS University of London Organiser: Yannis Dafermos, Sara Stevano, Marie Hyllested Meyle and Anna Vergnano Contact email: yannis.dafermos@soas.ac.uk
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speaker: Haroon Akram-Lodhi, Trent University Moderator: Sara Ansari, SOAS University of London Organiser: Yannis Dafermos, Sara Stevano, Marie Hyllested Meyle and Anna Vergnano Contact email: yannis.dafermos@soas.ac.uk
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speaker: Daniela Gabor, UWE Bristol Moderator: Marie Meyle, SOAS University of London Organiser: Yannis Dafermos, Sara Stevano, Marie Hyllested Meyle and Anna Vergnano Contact email: yannis.dafermos@soas.ac.uk
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speaker: Christina Laskaridis, SOAS University of London Moderator: Azfar Hanif Azizi, SOAS University of London A copy of the presentation can be downloaded: https://www.soas.ac.uk/economics/events/file147464.pdf Organiser: Yannis Dafermos, Sara Stevano, Marie Hyllested Meyle and Anna Vergnano Contact email: yannis.dafermos@soas.ac.uk
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speaker: Jo Michell, UWE Bristol Moderator: Raza Rehman, SOAS University of London Organiser: Yannis Dafermos, Sara Stevano, Marie Hyllested Meyle and Anna Vergnano Contact email: yannis.dafermos@soas.ac.uk
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speaker: Costas Lapavitsas, SOAS University of London Moderator: Carla Coburger, Rebuilding Macroeconomics
This is part of a webinar series co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS Open Economics Forum. The aim of the series is to provide a critical perspective to the recent economic developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. Speaker: Tobias Franz, SOAS University of London Moderator: Alice Malivoire, SOAS University of London
Machiko Nissanke (SOAS) Drawing in part on her chapter in the forthcoming Palgrave Handbook of Development Economics, Machiko presents a critical reflection on how to secure sovereign debt sustainability for economic development of LICs. Her seminar talk is set in the context of the rising debt distress in several SSA countries over the recent years as well as the evolution of the academic and policy debates on the ‘aid-debt-growth’ nexus. After critically evaluating the constructs of the IFIs’ Debt Sustainability Framework in use of LICs, she discusses alternative approaches to sovereign debt sustainability. These entail: a) a system of prudent resource and debt management, including sound selection of debt-financed projects with large developmental dividends and spill-overs in light of a country’s absorptive capacity, and close performance monitoring at micro and macro levels; b) choice and packaging of appropriate financial instruments; and c) a clearly agreed procedure, backed up with global facilities laid out at the onset in debt contracts, on how to deal with downside risks and debt distress conditions in order to facilitate an orderly debt restructuring and workout process. Against these conditions, she evaluates the prospects of the emerging debt problems in Africa, in particular in relation to the growing portion of sovereign debt owed to private creditors and non-traditional concessional loan providers, and the way forward with their sovereign debt restructuring mechanisms. Machiko Nissanke is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the SOAS Department of Economics. This talk was organised by the Centre for Global Finance (CGF) and was part of the CGF Seminar Series. The Centre for Global Finance (CGF) is established under the AXA Chair in Global Finance. The centre undertakes rigorous research that explores mega-trends in global finance and how they impact on development in the international financial system and the world economy. The research via the centre aims to significantly extend the existing body of knowledge on finance, stability and growth. This can help identify the drivers of growth in emerging economies, and the issues that lead to financial crashes. Find out more about the CGF: https://www.centreforglobalfinance.org/ Speakers: Machiko Nissanke (SOAS), Victor Murinde (AXA Professor in Global Finance, SOAS University of London) Released by: SOAS Economics Podcasts
On 13th and 14th July, SOAS hosted the International Social Forum organised by the Labour party and the SOAS Department of Economics. This was an opportunity for Labour to bring together politicians, economists and social movement leaders from across the world in an effort to discuss ideas and open a dialogue on ways to reform International Institutions to tackle climate change and growing inequality. Laura Siegler chatted with Yanis Varoufakis about the European environmental agenda and his campaign for transnational democracy. Voices: Dela Gwala Almira Binte Farid
Jonathan Arentoft (SOAS), Henry Leveson-Gower (Promoting Economic Pluralism), Ben Glover (Demos) and Sophie Van Huellen (SOAS) Mainstream Economics dominates all sectors of our society from academia to the job industry. The event seeks to understand the institutional and structural arrangements that allow orthodox Economics to protract its dominance in modern societies. We will be looking particularly at three channels through which this is possible. The first one is academia and it's relationship with the government in terms of various funding mechanisms. Secondly how educational institutions interact with the job market, for example how the demands of prospect employers discourage professors from designing a pluralist curriculum (and whether this is a myth.). Lastly, our speakers assess the symbolic value of the Nobel Prize, which almost exclusively awards research that fits into the Mainstream Economic Theory. To end on a positive note, our panel will consider strategies for change given this broad analysis. Speaker biographies: Jonathan Arentoft is a student of international relations and economics at SOAS, and is a society member of the Open Economics Forum, which is part of an international network of student groups which promote the pluralisation and democratisation of economics. Henry-Leveson Gower has been a practicing economist and policy analyst for almost 25 years. Henry is an internationally recognised expert in water policy and regulation but he also has knowledge of a wide range of environmental policy areas including sustainable consumption and production, climate change adaptation, industrial pollution and waste. He is also the founder and CEO of Promoting Economic Pluralism, which is seeking to create space for different frames, narratives and perspectives on the economy to gain legitimacy within academia, policy and public dialogues. Ben Glover is researcher at the think-tank Demos. Prior to joining Demos, he worked as a parliamentary researcher for a Labour MP. Before that, he was a policy adviser on the civil service fast stream, working in several government departments in Whitehall on policy areas including digital taxation, prison reform and rail travel. Here, he and with two co-workers set-up Exploring Economics, which has been pushing for more pluralism and diversity of approaches within the Government Economic Service. Sophie van Huellen is a Lecturer in Economics at SOAS University of London. She teaches undergraduate and post graduate modules in international finance and advanced econometrics. Her research interests are in quantitative methods beyond econometrics including machine learning and big data. She is further interested in financial markets, financialisation, (agricultural) commodity markets, and global value chains. At SOAS, she is an active memeber of the Food, Nutrition and Health in Development Research Cluster and the Research Cluster on Industrial Development and Policy. Organiser: The event was organised by OEF the (Open Economics Forum) and SOAS Department of Economics Speaker: Hannah Bargawi (SOAS), Jonathan Arentoft (SOAS), Henry Leveson-Gower (Promoting Economic Pluralism), Ben Glover (Demos) and Sophie Van Huellen (SOAS) Released by: SOAS Economics Podcasts This podcast has been edited and section have been shortened.
Anne Booth (SOAS) In the literature on women and development, there has been a tendency to view the countries of Southeast Asia as less patriarchal than other parts of Asia. It has also been argued that patterns of female literacy and female employment in the Moslem-majority countries in Southeast Asia are different from those in Moslem-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa. This paper reviews both the historical and contemporary evidence on the role of women in Southeast Asia paying particular attention to four indicators. The first is the extent to which women have been able to obtain employment outside the home. The second is their ability to gain access to at least sufficient education to give them literacy and numeracy. The third concerns their control over when and who they marry, and their fertility within marriage. The fourth concerns the extent to which Southeast Asian societies have been characterized by strong son-preference. The paper discusses whether Southeast Asia is different and the possible reasons for these differences. Professor Anne Booth is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the SOAS Department of Economics. Organised by the Female Employment and Dynamics of Inequality (FEDI) Network Speakers: Anne Booth (SOAS), Massoud Karshenas (SOAS) Released by: SOAS Economics Podcasts
Machiko Nissanke (SOAS) Drawing in part on her chapter in the forthcoming Palgrave Handbook of Development Economics, Machiko presents a critical reflection on how to secure sovereign debt sustainability for economic development of LICs. Her seminar talk is set in the context of the rising debt distress in several SSA countries over the recent years as well as the evolution of the academic and policy debates on the ‘aid-debt-growth’ nexus. After critically evaluating the constructs of the IFIs’ Debt Sustainability Framework in use of LICs, she discusses alternative approaches to sovereign debt sustainability. These entail: a) a system of prudent resource and debt management, including sound selection of debt-financed projects with large developmental dividends and spill-overs in light of a country’s absorptive capacity, and close performance monitoring at micro and macro levels; b) choice and packaging of appropriate financial instruments; and c) a clearly agreed procedure, backed up with global facilities laid out at the onset in debt contracts, on how to deal with downside risks and debt distress conditions in order to facilitate an orderly debt restructuring and workout process. Against these conditions, she evaluates the prospects of the emerging debt problems in Africa, in particular in relation to the growing portion of sovereign debt owed to private creditors and non-traditional concessional loan providers, and the way forward with their sovereign debt restructuring mechanisms. Machiko Nissanke is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the SOAS Department of Economics. This talk was organised by the Centre for Global Finance (CGF) and was part of the CGF Seminar Series. The Centre for Global Finance (CGF) is established under the AXA Chair in Global Finance. The centre undertakes rigorous research that explores mega-trends in global finance and how they impact on development in the international financial system and the world economy. The research via the centre aims to significantly extend the existing body of knowledge on finance, stability and growth. This can help identify the drivers of growth in emerging economies, and the issues that lead to financial crashes. Find out more about the CGF: https://www.centreforglobalfinance.org/ Speakers: Machiko Nissanke (SOAS), Victor Murinde (AXA Professor in Global Finance, SOAS University of London) Released by: SOAS Economics Podcasts
Costas Lapavitsas (SOAS) A crucial feature of financialisation is the extraordinary increase of financial profits in relation to non-financial and total profits. The reasons for this increase are not well understood. To tackle this issue this paper adopts a Marxist approach to financialisation as a distinct historical period in the development of mature capitalism. On this basis it builds a macroeconomic model with a non-financial and a financial sector which is also stock-flow consistent along the lines of Godley. The model shows that the ratio of financial to non-financial profits depends positively on the net interest margin and the non-interest income of banks, but negatively on the general rate of profit, the non-interest expenses of banks, and the ratio of the capital stock to interest-earning assets. The model is subsequently tested for the US economy showing that financial profits have varied mainly with respect to the net interest margin, while non-interest income has also played a significant role. The crisis of 2007-9 represents a turning point in this respect, ushering in a period of weaker financial profits. Costas Lapavitsas is Professor in Economics at the SOAS Department of Economics. Speakers: Costas Lapavitsas (SOAS), Gregor Semieniuk (SOAS) Released by: SOAS Economics Podcasts
José Antonio Ocampo (Banco de la República, Colombia & Columbia University) Inaugural SOAS Central Banking Lecture: Essential Reforms for a Sound 21st Century International Monetary System. The inaugural SOAS Central Banking Lecture will be delivered by Professor José Antonio Ocampo. The SOAS Central Banking Lectures have been established by the SOAS Department of Economics to provide a forum for distinguished scholars and practitioners to address topics of broad interest in the areas of central banking and international monetary and financial policy. The lecture will scrutinise the need for and the challenges of reforming the international monetary system. The 2007-09 global financial crisis, as the emerging market crises of the late twentieth century, show that the ad hoc international monetary system that evolved out of the crisis of the Bretton Woods arrangements in the early 1970s needs fundamental reforms. This lecture, based on José Antonio Ocampo’s recent book, Resetting the International Monetary (Non)System, will analyse the areas in need of fundamental reform: the global reserve system, macroeconomic policy cooperation, prevention and management of balance of payments crises, and governance of the system. Professor Ocampo’s lecture will be followed by comments by Stephany Griffith-Jones (Columbia University) and Ulrich Volz (SOAS). Spearker biography: José Antonio Ocampo is Member of the Board of Banco de la República, Colombia’s central bank, and Chair of the Committee for Development Policy of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). He is also Professor (on leave) at the School of International and Public Affairs, co-President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue and Member of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University. He has occupied numerous positions at the United Nations and his native Colombia, including UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and Minister of Finance, Minister of Agriculture and Director of the National Planning Office of Colombia. He has received numerous academic distinctions, including the 2012 Jaume Vicens Vives award of the Spanish Association of Economic History for the best book on Spanish or Latin American economic history, the 2008 Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought and the 1988 Alejandro Angel Escobar National Science Award of Colombia. He has published extensively on macroeconomic theory and policy, international financial issues, economic and social development, international trade, and Colombian and Latin American economic history. Speakers: José Antonio Ocampo (Banco de la República, Colombia & Columbia University), Stephany Griffith-Jones (Columbia University) and Ulrich Volz (SOAS). Released by: SOAS Economics Podcasts
Ben Fine (SOAS) Malnutrition and Development: 5 Minutes Economics: Prof Ben Fine (SOAS University of London) on 'Malnutrition and Development', why obesity is an increasing symptom of malnutrition and why dietary education does not solve the problem. You can find out more about studying Economics at SOAS University of London at https://www.soas.ac.uk/economics/ Ben Fine is Professor of Economics at the SOAS Department of Economics. He is the author of a number of works in the broad tradition of Marxist economics, and has made contributions on economic imperialism and social capital. He took his doctorate in economics at the London School of Economics, under the supervision of Amartya Sen. Speakers: Ben Fine (SOAS) Released by: SOAS Economics Podcasts
Jonathan Clyne (SOAS) After 40 years of "transition" and no end in sight, it's time to analyse China's economy as a system in its own right. It's a system driven by the conflict between the private market sector and a dominant state-owned planned sector. Jonathan Clyne is a PhD Candidate at the SOAS Department of Economics and is working on ‘The relationship between plan and market in Chinese industry since 1978, and its role in growth’. This half-day workshop, jointly hosted by IIPPE Political Economy of China’s Development Working Group, SOAS Economics Department and Development Studies Department, aimed at bringing progressive scholars and students together to discuss China’s economic transformation and its impact on world development in relation to neoliberalism, capitalism and imperialism. Prior to the workshop, there was an open forum for productive dialogue between a delegation of Marxist scholars from China and the workshop participants, on the state of intellectual Marxism in China. Speakers: Jonathan Clyne (SOAS) Event Date: 5 June 2018 Released by: SOAS Economics Podcast and IIPPE Podcast
Liliann Fischer (University of Kent), Ben Fine (SOAS), Alfredo Saad Filho (SOAS) Rethinking Economics takes action: The Open Economics Forum and SOAS Department of Economics will be hosting a book launch for the recently published reader "Rethinking Economics - An Introduction to Pluralist Economics". The book is among the very first to provide a concise overview of different schools of thought in economics. The book launch will feature one of the editors, Liliann Fischer (University of Kent), as well as Professors Ben Fine (Economics, SOAS) and Alfredo Saad Filho (Development Studies, SOAS) who contributed with a chapter on 'Marxist Economics'. Speaker biographies: Liliann Fischer has an International Relations background, recently graduating from her first Master’s degree in Global Conflict and Peace Processes at the University of Aberdeen and is now studying for a second degree in Political Psychology at the University of Kent, UK. Ben Fine is Professor of Economics at the SOAS Department of Economics. He is the author of a number of works in the broad tradition of Marxist economics, and has made contributions on economic imperialism and social capital. He took his doctorate in economics at the London School of Economics, under the supervision of Amartya Sen. Alfredo Saad Filho is a Professor of Political Economy at the SOAS Department of Development Studies. Alfredo has degrees in Economics from the Universities of Brasilia (Brazil) and London (SOAS). He has worked in universities and research institutions based in Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mozambique, Switzerland and the UK, and was a senior economic affairs officer at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). His research interests include the political economy of development, industrial policy, neoliberalism, alternative economic policies, Latin American political and economic development, inflation and stabilisation, and the labour theory of value and its applications. Speakers: Liliann Fischer (University of Kent), Ben Fine (SOAS), Alfredo Saad Filho (SOAS) Organiser: Organised jointly with the Open Economics Forum. Event Date: 21 February 2018 Released by: SOAS Economics Podcast
Sébastien Lechevalier (EHESS) This paper analyses the revival of industrial policies from the late 2000 s in Japan and Korea and their limitations. The paper first adopts the perspective of historical institutionalism to focus on the relation between IPs and financial systems and study their evolution over the last 40 years. Second the paper mobilizes the concepts of institutional complementarities and hierarchy, and discusses the limits of this revival in a context of liberalized financial systems, to which government entities in charge of industrial policies have contributed. A major finding is that, in the context of financialization, past complementarities of the developmental state have weakened and contradictions have arisen. It has resulted in a restructuration of state capabilities to design and implement industrial policies, and to its inability to subordinate finance to its goals, despite the discourses and ambitions of governments. However, comparison between Japan and Korea also allows the identification of some significant differences in the initial institutional arrangements and in the process of institutional change, pertaining to sources of greater state capabilities in Korea than in Japan in the current period. This paper is one of the outcomes of INCAS, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions R.I.S.E funded project under the European Commission’s H2020 Programme. Speaker biography: Sébastien Lechevalier is Professor at the EHESS (Paris), in charge of the chair "Asian capitalisms". He is also founding President of the Fondation France. Being an expert on the Japanese economy, he was previously a visiting researcher at the Maison Franco-Japonaise in Tokyo, Hitotsubashi University, the University of Tokyo, Waseda University and Kyoto University. His research interests includes institutional change, innovation and industrial economics, inequalities and welfare. Among his numerous publications, one may cite: The Great Diversity of Japanese Capitalism (Routledge, 2014), Lessons from the Japanese experience. Towards an alternative economic policy? (ENS Ulm, 2016, in French). His next book Innovation beyond technology: Science for society and interdisciplinary approaches is forthcoming in 2018 from Springer. Speakers: Sébastien Lechevalier (EHESS), Helen Macnaughtan (SOAS) Organiser: SOAS Japan Research Centre, SOAS Department of Economics and Japan Economy Network Event Date: 7 February 2018 Released by: SOAS Economics Podcast
Angela Penrose, Yves Doz, Christopher Howe, Elizabeth Garnsey Angela Penrose, writer and journalist and daughter-in-law of Edith Penrose, will present 'No Ordinary Woman', the first biography of Edith Penrose, author of The Theory of the Growth of the Firm, a remarkable woman and distinguished scholar. Born in 1914, Edith Penrose spent much of her academic career as Professor of Economics at SOAS, having previously held a joint appointment at LSE and SOAS. As well as the theory of the firm, her research included the international patent system and innovation; multinational firms and foreign investment; oil companies and the economies of the Middle East; and economic development. In the week Angela Penrose was given The Theory of The Growth of the Firm to read as part of her PPE course at Oxford she met her future husband, Perran Penrose, the son of the author, Edith Penrose. She and Perran went on to teach in Libya, Ethiopia, Burundi, and Zambia where Angela also worked as a journalist. She has extensive experience of communicating in the printed and broadcast media and working directly with children and young people as a teacher and youth worker. She has worked with development and humanitarian organizations and was Director of Policy with Save The Children. This event is co-organised by the SOAS Department of Economics and the SOAS School of Finance and Management. Welcome: Valerie Amos CH, Director of SOAS Speakers: Angela Penrose, Yves Doz, Christopher Howe, Elizabeth Garnsey Event Date: 29 November 2017 Released by: SOAS Economics Podcast
John Plender (Financial Times) Abstract: Japan is currently dependent on artificially low nominal and real interest rates together with continuing budget deficits averaging around six per cent of gdp. These deficits are necessary to offset the potential deflationary impact of the corporate sector saving far in excess what it invests. A consequence is that public sector debt is far higher than in the other major advanced economies at 226 per cent of gdp (gross) and 129 per cent (net). Such high levels of debt are not currently a problem because the global economy is experiencing a synchronised upturn and Japan remains an international creditor. But when the cycle turns down this unstable equilibrium could come unstuck - especially if protectionist forces gain strength, thereby hitting export dependent Japan's economic growth. This event is co-organised by the SOAS Japan Research Centre, Japan Economy Network and the SOAS Department of Economics. Speaker biography: John Plender has been a senior editorial writer and columnist at the Financial Times since 1981. After taking his degree at Oxford University, John Plender joined Deloitte, Plender, Griffiths & Co in the City of London in 1967, qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1970. He then moved into journalism and became financial editor of The Economist in 1974, where he remained until joining the UK Foreign Office policy planning staff in 1980. On leaving the Foreign Office, he became a senior editorial writer and columnist at the Financial Times, an assignment he combined until the late 1990s with current affairs broadcasting for the BBC and Channel Four. A past chairman of Pensions and Investment Research Consultants (Pirc), the UK shareholder activist and corporate governance consultancy, John Plender served on the UK government’s Company Law Review steering group which provided the groundwork for the Companies Act 2006. He joined the board of Quintain PLC as a non-executive director in 2002 and chaired the company from 2007 to 2009. He is currently chairman of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, as well as being a trustee of the £4bn Pearson Group Pension Fund. Among a number of other roles John Plender is a member of the OECD/World Bank Private Sector Advisory Group on Corporate Governance and a member of the advisory council of the Association of Corporate Treasurers. He was the winner of the Wincott Foundation senior prize for excellence in financial journalism in 1994. His books include Going Off The Rails - Global Capital And The Crisis Of Legitimacy (John Wiley, 2003), which anticipated the 2007-8 financial crisis, and Capitalism – Money, Morals and Markets (Biteback, 2015). John Plender has spoken and lectured at numerous venues around the world including Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Yale and Bocconi universities, the London Business School, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, the World Bank, the OECD, the International Corporate Governance Network, the Pimco Secular Forum and CLSA Annual Investors Forum. Organiser: SOAS Japan Research Centre, Japan Economy Network & SOAS Department of Economics Speaker(s): John Plender (Financial Times), Ulrich Volz (SOAS) Event Date: 15 November 2017 Released by: SOAS Economics Podcast
Kate Raworth and Ulrich Volz In this event, which is co-hosted by SOAS Student Union, the Open Economics Forum, and the SOAS Department of Economics, Kate Raworth will present her concept of 'Doughnut Economics' and discuss its implications for the study and practice of economics with the Head of the SOAS Department of Economics, Ulrich Volz. Kate Raworth is a renegade economist focused on exploring the economic mindset needed to address the 21st century’s social and ecological challenges, and is the creator of the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries.She is a Senior Visiting Research Associate at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, where she teaches on the Masters in Environmental Change and Management. She is also a Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.Her internationally acclaimed idea of Doughnut Economics has been widely influential amongst sustainable development thinkers, progressive businesses and political activists, and she has presented it to audiences ranging from the UN General Assembly to the Occupy movement. Her book, Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist is being published in the UK and US in April 2017 and translated into Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and Japanese.Over the past 20 years, Kate’s career has taken her from working with micro-entrepreneurs in the villages of Zanzibar to co-authoring the Human Development Report for UNDP in New York, followed by a decade as Senior Researcher at Oxfam.She holds a first class BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, and an MSc in Economics for Development, both from Oxford University. She is a member of the Club of Rome and serves on several advisory boards, including the Stockholm School of Economics’ Global Challenges programme, the University of Surrey’s Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, and Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute. Ulrich Volz is Head of the Department of Economics and Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Economics at SOAS University of London. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the German Development Institute and Honorary Professor of Economics at the University of Leipzig. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo and co-editor-in-chief of the Asia Europe Journal. Ulrich has taught at Peking University, Kobe University, Hertie School of Governance, Freie Universität Berlin and Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing. He spent stints working at the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and held visiting research positions at the University of Oxford, University of Birmingham, ECB, Bank Indonesia, and Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. He was also a Fox International Fellow and Max Kade Scholar at Yale University. Ulrich is a founding member and coordinator of the Japan Economy Network, which is hosted by the SOAS Department of Economics Organised by: SOAS Student Union, Open Economics Forum, and SOAS Department of Economics Speaker(s): Kate Raworth (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford & Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership) and Ulrich Volz (SOAS) Event Date: 26 September 2017 Released by: SOAS Economics Podcast
Prof. Maureen Mackintosh (The Open University) XI SOAS Industrial Development and Policy (IDP) Lecture. Health sectors are big buyers of industrial commodities, so their funding, purchasing and market structures influence industrial development. Since health sectors are strongly shaped by policy, while manufacturing suppliers typically rely on domestic demand at least for initial growth, national health policies are necessarily also national industrial policies. Assuring universalist health care is one of the most inclusive interventions open to governments, so health-linked industries offer a potential terrain for inclusive industrialisation. Yet in many low and middle income countries (LMICs), innovation and industrial development in health tend to be disequalising, given the current political economy of LMIC health sectors. The lecture uses evidence from recent work by Tanzanian, Kenyan and UK researchers to outline incentive structures in East African health sectors that interact with industrial development to determine its inclusionary or exclusionary nature, and draws implications for policy. Maureen Mackintosh (Innovation, Knowledge and Development Research Centre, The Open University) Organised by the Industrial Development and Policy Research Cluster – SOAS IDP snd the SOAS Department of Economics Speaker(s): Prof. Maureen Mackintosh (The Open University), Dr. Antonio Andreoni (SOAS) Event Date: 08 March 2017 Released by: SOAS Economics Podcast
Costas Lapavitsas and Geoff Ingham, Louis Moreno, Anitra Nelson, Engelbert Stockhammer. Symposium and Launch of Marxist Monetary Theory by Costas Lapavitsas. "Marxist Monetary Theory", a collection of papers by Costas Lapavitsas, published by Brill, will be launched at SOAS on 18 January 2017. To mark the event there will be a panel debate with the title "Thinking about Money". Money and finance are pre-eminent, even dominant, features of contemporary capitalism. Costas Lapavitsas was among the first political economists to notice their ascendancy and devote his research to it. The collected volume ranges far and wide, including papers on markets and money, finance and the enterprise, power and money, the financialisation of capitalism, finance and profit, even money as art. The participants in the panel debate are leading academics with expertise in the philosophical, economic and sociological aspects of money. The debate will be a rare opportunity to consider conflicting approaches to money in social science. The symposium is organised by the SOAS Department of Economics, in collaboration with the Department of Development Studies. Speaker(s): Antonio Andreoni (SOAS), Geoff Ingham (University of Cambridge), Costas Lapavitsas (SOAS), Louis Moreno (Goldsmiths Univeristy of London), Anitra Nelson (RMIT), Engelbert Stockhammer (Kingston University) Event Date: 18 January 2017 Released by: SOAS Economics Podcast
Costas Lapavitsas and Geoff Ingham, Louis Moreno, Anitra Nelson, Engelbert Stockhammer. Symposium and Launch of Marxist Monetary Theory by Costas Lapavitsas. "Marxist Monetary Theory", a collection of papers by Costas Lapavitsas, published by Brill, will be launched at SOAS on 18 January 2017. To mark the event there will be a panel debate with the title "Thinking about Money". Money and finance are pre-eminent, even dominant, features of contemporary capitalism. Costas Lapavitsas was among the first political economists to notice their ascendancy and devote his research to it. The collected volume ranges far and wide, including papers on markets and money, finance and the enterprise, power and money, the financialisation of capitalism, finance and profit, even money as art. The participants in the panel debate are leading academics with expertise in the philosophical, economic and sociological aspects of money. The debate will be a rare opportunity to consider conflicting approaches to money in social science. The symposium is organised by the SOAS Department of Economics, in collaboration with the Department of Development Studies. Speaker(s): Antonio Andreoni (SOAS), Geoff Ingham (University of Cambridge), Costas Lapavitsas (SOAS), Louis Moreno (Goldsmiths Univeristy of London), Anitra Nelson (RMIT), Engelbert Stockhammer (Kingston University) Event Date: 18 January 2017 Released by: SOAS Economics Podcast
Costas Lapavitsas and Geoff Ingham, Louis Moreno, Anitra Nelson, Engelbert Stockhammer. Symposium and Launch of Marxist Monetary Theory by Costas Lapavitsas. "Marxist Monetary Theory", a collection of papers by Costas Lapavitsas, published by Brill, will be launched at SOAS on 18 January 2017. To mark the event there will be a panel debate with the title "Thinking about Money". Money and finance are pre-eminent, even dominant, features of contemporary capitalism. Costas Lapavitsas was among the first political economists to notice their ascendancy and devote his research to it. The collected volume ranges far and wide, including papers on markets and money, finance and the enterprise, power and money, the financialisation of capitalism, finance and profit, even money as art. The participants in the panel debate are leading academics with expertise in the philosophical, economic and sociological aspects of money. The debate will be a rare opportunity to consider conflicting approaches to money in social science. The symposium is organised by the SOAS Department of Economics, in collaboration with the Department of Development Studies. Speaker(s): Antonio Andreoni (SOAS), Geoff Ingham (University of Cambridge), Costas Lapavitsas (SOAS), Louis Moreno (Goldsmiths Univeristy of London), Anitra Nelson (RMIT), Engelbert Stockhammer (Kingston University) Event Date: 18 January 2017 Released by: SOAS Economics Podcast
Dr. Helen Macnaughtan, Mr. Martin Malone, Mr. Andrew Rozanov, Dr. Ulrich Volz. In this event, four Japan experts will assess the Japanese government’s progress in addressing the root causes of the country’s economic stagnation and deflation problems under the set of policies known as ‘Abenomics’. Panellists will discuss the efficacy of the various policy measures adopted by the Abe administration ranging from monetary and fiscal policies and corporate governance and labour market reforms to ‘womenomics’ and the plan to become a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Speaker Biographies: Andrew Rozanov is an independent expert in institutional fund management and an associate fellow at Chatham House since October 2014. He previously worked at Permal Group, where he was responsible for advising long-term institutional investors on asset allocation, portfolio construction, risk management and alternative investments, with a particular focus on global macro and tail risk strategies. Before joining Permal, he held various roles at State Street Corporation and UBS Investment Bank. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), a Financial Risk Manager (FRM), and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). He holds a Master’s equivalent degree in Asian and African Studies from Moscow State University. Andrew is a member of the Japan Economy Network. Since 1990, Martin Malone has worked in senior financial positions at DKB. Norinchukin Bank, Merrill Lynch, Mizuho Bank, and West-Pac. Martin’s core competency relates to global fixed income and currency markets, especially Japan’s financial markets, and associated policy mechanisms. Over the past three years Martin’s global macro advisory business delivers advice to macro funds, SWFs, pension funds, commercial bank Treasury units, as well as policy makers. Martin holds an MA (Hons) in pure mathematics from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland having specialised in Hamiltonian quantum field theory. Martin is a member of the Japan Economy Network. Ulrich Volz is Head of the Department of Economics and Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Economics at SOAS University of London. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo and co-editor-in-chief of the Asia Europe Journal. Ulrich has taught at Peking University, Kobe University, Hertie School of Governance, Freie Universität Berlin and Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing. He spent stints working at the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and held visiting research positions at the University of Oxford, University of Birmingham, ECB, Bank Indonesia, and Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. Ulrich is a founding member and coordinator of the Japan Economy Network, which is hosted by the SOAS Department of Economics. Helen Macnaughtan is Chair of the Japan Research Centre (JRC) and Senior Lecturer in International Business and Management (Japan) in the School of Finance and Management at SOAS. Helen is also Co-Editor of Japan Forum, the official journal of the British Association for Japanese Studies (BAJS). Her academic research interests focus on a broad range of topics relating to gender issues and employment in Japan. In particular, she has recently published articles assessing the progress and viability of ‘Womenomics’ policy in Japan. Helen is a member of the Japan Economy Network This event is jointly organised by the SOAS Japan Research Centre, the SOAS Department of Economics and the Japan Economy Network. Speaker(s): Andrew Rozanov (Chatham House), Martin Malone (Alphabook/Mint Partners), Helen Macnaughtan (SOAS), Ulrich Volz (SOAS) Event Date: 16 November2016 Released by: SOAS Economics Podcast