Room for Discussion

We are proud to announce we will be hosting Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator of the Financial Times, on the 15th of May. After having obtained his degree at Oxford, Wolf went to become a senior economist at the World Bank before turning to financial journalism. To understand Wolf’s influence, one must first understand his audience. They are dedicated Financial Times readers and as Wolf put it: “I’m writing for the people who are doing these things, who are running these things, both governmental and politicians and financiers”.

The discussion will revolve around two topics:

– The importance of economic and financial journalism.
Our world has become increasingly financialized and the consequences of this development were felt during the financial crisis. What role does financial journalism play in keeping the financial sector in check? And to what extent does the attack on established media outlets affect the FT?

– The economic challenges of the coming decade.
Where is economics needed most in the coming decade? We will discuss two possible fields: the economic response to climate change and the role of economics in maintaining liberal democratic values. Firstly, with the release of the latest UNCCP report it has become increasingly clear that an appropriate response to climate change must be taken within the coming decade, what is the role of young economists in this debate and what policies make economic sense? Secondly, the US-China trade war has been dominating economic headlines, is it really only about trade balances or can we expect more economic wars as the liberal world order will be increasingly challenged?

Whoever thinks that investing is only to be done by means of buying and selling shares is wrong. Not only the rate of returns and stock prices are important when deciding what kind of shares to buy, but also the business that the company is actually doing is really important. How much do companies adhere to societal pressures and to what extent do they take their corporate social responsibility?

More and more initiatives are launched by which this becomes an important factor when making investment decisions. Investing is more than making returns instead of putting your money on your savings account, it is also a way in which business is financed, and business decisions are being made. How can you steer business in a more desirable way?

Kandidaten van de acht grootste partijen bij de meest recente verkiezingen:

De kandidaten zijn niemand minder dan Arnout Hoekstra (SP), Tineke Strik (GroenLinks), Paul Tang (PvdA), Felix Klos (D’66), Anil Kumar (ChristenUnie/SGP), Chantal Hakbijl (CDA) Liesje Schreinemacher (VVD) en Frederik Jansen (FvD).

Opzet van het debat:
Er zal gedebatteerd worden over vier onderwerpen aan de hand van vier stellingen.
De Europese Unie gaat de komende jaren een ontzettend spannende periode tegemoet.

Met de Franse hervormingsdrang, de aankomende Brexit, het naderende vertrek van Merkel als leider van Duitsland en het opkomende populisme in Hongarije, Polen en Italië is de koers van de EU allerminst zeker. Daarnaast lijkt Amerika als bondgenoot minder vanzelfsprekend dan de afgelopen decennia het geval was en timmeren opkomende wereldmachten als China en India flink aan de weg.
Waar staat Nederland in dit veranderende speelveld en wat voor Europese koers willen de Nederlandse partijen de komende jaren gaan varen? Dit zijn vragen die er meer dan ooit toe doen!

De laatste Provinciale Statenverkiezingen hebben laten zien hoe versplinterd het Nederlandse politieke landschap is geworden. De gevestigde coalitiepartijen moeten nu een strategie bedenken – zo ook D66. Wordt het strijd – of wordt het polderen? Hoe zal de klimaatdrammer van D66 zich profileren tegenover de nieuwkomer in de Eerste Kamer en zijn anti-EU boodschap? Waar ligt de huidige ideologische prioriteit van de traditionele middenpartij en hoe dicht staat zij nog bij de democratische idealen van oprichter Van Mierlo? En hoe zal Rob Jetten het leiderschap van de partij de komende tijd op zich nemen?

They say two things are certain in life: death and taxes. In this session we shall be discussing the latter with the Dutch secretary of finance, Menno Snel. The fiscal regime in the Netherlands has been under large scrutiny lately, with the proposal for the abolishment of the dividend tax being scrapped and debate over the leniency towards multinational companies in the Netherlands. As well as tax evasion and avoidance, the interview will look at taxes in a broader sense, exploring what role they play in society, how public attitudes towards taxation are shaped and the ideas behind a fiscal union.

ome of you might know him as the author of your microeconomics textbook, others because of his position as chief economist at Google. As a microeconomist prof. Varian has specialized in the role of information in the economy. Starting consulting for Google in 2002 he has been key to Google’s auction design system and corporate strategy. Google has radically changed the way we receive our information, practically serving as the gatekeeper to the internet. However, in recent times there has been increased scrutiny towards superstar firms. During the interview we will discuss among others how information is transforming the economy and the role of Google in the modern economy.

Na tijden van bezuinigingen wordt er eindelijk weer meer geïnvesteerd in het Nederlandse leger; maar is het genoeg? Wat zijn de uitdagingen waar het Nederlandse leger voor staat de komende jaren? Zal door de bekoelde trans-Atlantische relatie de NAVO over een paar jaar nog bestaan? Moet er meer militaire samenwerking komen tussen EU landen?

How is climate change posing new challenges for our legal systems, policy-making, and how is it is being addressed in our courtrooms. We will discuss recent cases in the Netherlands such as Urgenda and Milieudefensie’s lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell. To help us discuss this topics, we are joined by Prof. Dr. Joyeeta Gupta — co-chair of UN Environment’s Global Environmental Outlook-6 and Professor at the University of Amsterdam— and Freek Bersch — Spokesperson for Economy at Milieudefensie — will join us as we discuss these topics in a one-hour long interview, hosted on our stage at “Room for discussion”.

On paper, things have never looked better for female entrepreneurs. But statistical numbers only tell part of the story. Women-owned firms are still in the minority, and the hurdles faced by women who have embraced entrepreneurship are vast and often very different than those experienced by their male counterparts. To shed light on some of these disparities, Room for Discussion organizes a panel discussion with three inspiring business women who will discuss their experiences regarding female entrepreneurship and leadership.

Our first guest is Dr. Cara Antoine. She joined Microsoft the Netherlands in January 2017 as Chief Marketing & Operations Officer. We will also be joined by Ms. Diana van Maasdijk, co-founder & CEO of Equileap, an organisation aiming to accelerate progress towards gender equality in the workplace. Our third and final guest is Ms. Carine de Meyere, Director of Partnerships & New Business Development for TEDxAmsterdamWomen.

On our first Brexit Session, we focused on the British perspective – the dire situation in parliament, the leadership challenges, and the political party splits. On this session, we will move onto Europe. What will be the economic impact of a No Deal Brexit? What should the way forward for European negotiators?