Rainer Kattel (UCL) will focus on how to (re-)define what entrepreneurial states are: namely, these are states that are capable of unleashing innovations and wealth resulting from those, and of maintaining socio-political stability at the same time. Innovation bureaucracies are constellations of public organisations that deliver such agile stability. Such balancing act makes public bureaucracies unique in how they work, succeed and fail.

The talk looks at the historical evolution of innovation bureaucracy by focusing on public organisations dealing with knowledge and technology, economic development and growth; and briefly show how agility and stability are delivered through starkly different bureaucratic organisations. Hence, what matters for capacity and capabilities are not single organisations but organisational configurations and how they evolve.

Venue: Paul Webley Wing (Senate House) Room: ALT

Organiser: Antonio Andreoni

Contact email: [email protected]

Keynes: The Art of Choosing the Right Model - an event in memory of Mark Hayes

Introduction and Chair: Jan Toporowski (SOAS)

Speaker: Dr Matteo Iannizzotto (Associate Professor in Macroeconomics, Durham University Business School)

Discussant: Victoria Chick (UCL)

From a research perspective, this new intellectual biography of Keynes showcases several new approaches to theoretical and policy questions. The Keynesian Cross is re-interpreted in terms of expectations and integrated with the Z-D approach; the flexible prices and supply side of Keynes’s principle of effective demand are restored to students. The Great Confusion of Loanable Funds is resolved. The book shows how government has no credit limit but does have a budget constraint. The main unfinished business from Keynes’s own thought is the reform of the international monetary system, and the book sets out a reform plan for the Euro.

Panel: Prof. Sevket Pamuk (Bogazici University); Prof. Socrates Petmezas (University of Crete); and Prof. Costas Lapavitsas (SOAS)

A special event to review the state of the art in the field of Ottoman economic development on the occasion of the publication of “Capitalism in the Ottoman Balkans: Industrialisation and Modernity in Macedonia”, Costas Lapavitsas and Pinar Cakiroglu, I.B.Tauris, 2019.

The event is organised jointly by the Department of Economics and the Turkish section of the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at SOAS and will be followed by a wine reception, 19:00-20:00.

Chaired by: Yorgos Dedes (SOAS)

Julia Steinberger (University of Leeds) and Elena Hofferberth (University of Leeds)

In this talk, we first cover the (physical) science basis and the case for a climate emergency. Depending on the economic interpretation of the causal dynamics connecting fossil fuels and the economy, entirely different proposals for tackling climate breakdown are put forward. We will discuss green growth reformist proposals and contrast them with radical degrowth ones. We summarise the empirical evidence on either side of this debate. We explore the implications of current Green New Deal and Just Transition proposals. We end by encouraging a debate on the topic of which economic science is needed for our planetary future.

Speakers: Julia Steinberger (University of Leeds) and Elena Hofferberth (University of Leeds), Elisa Van Waeyenberge (SOAS)

Published by: SOAS Economics Podcast

Complexity is a powerful multi-disciplinary idea that combines insights from both the natural and social sciences, especially economics and economic geography, to study the dynamics of complex systems of heterogeneous agents, the multiple interactions between them, and the aggregate behaviours that emerge from those interactions. Arguably, the most prominent empirical approach to complexity is that of the Atlas of Economic Complexity, developed by Ricardo Hausmann and Cesar Hidalgo (H&H) at Harvard’s Growth Lab.

The Atlas itself is a remarkable – and strikingly beautiful - online resource, which uses network theory methods to provide a snapshot of a country’s productive structure, as well as a measure of the complexity and diversity of its production and those of individual products. This ‘Product Space’ approach is rooted in the idea that ‘countries become what they produce’. It is a view of economic development as the accumulation of productive capabilities of increasing sophistication. As countries develop, they produce more and more products and those products attain higher and higher levels of complexity, embodying more and more productive knowledge. This in turn provides more capabilities to produce yet more products and so creates a virtuous circle. Countries in which more detailed policy analysis has been carried out within the last two years include Sri Lanka, Uganda, Rwanda, Panama, Algeria, Mexico and Peru.

This paper contextualises H&H’s work within the recent resurgence of interest, in both academic and policy circles, in industrial policy. Comparing and contrasting the Product Space approach with other contemporary approaches to industrial policy, from authors including Justin Lin, Dani Rodrik, Joseph Stiglitz, Ha-Joon Chang and Mushtaq Khan, this paper sets out the strengths and weaknesses of conceptualising industrial development in terms of increasing economic complexity and diversity.

In the technical section, the paper critiques the mathematical methods by which complexity is defined and rewrites the concept in terms of Markov chains on weighted graphs. This alternative formulation permits the application of Markov chain concepts, such as convergence to the stationary state, similarity and spectral clustering, in order to reinterpret complexity and other spectral data. These techniques are then related to economic aspects of complexity, such as production, technological change and capabilities. It is argued that the changing nature of production poses particular challenges to the ‘Product Space’ approach as well as other modes of industrial policy, and on this basis an ‘industrial ecosystems’ approach is outlined.

Signe Krogstrup (Danmarks Nationalbank), Heron Belfon (Jubilee Caribbean), Irene Monasterolo (Vienna University of Economics and Business), Paolo Mauro (IMF), Ulrich Volz (SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance).

The SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance and the Bretton Woods Project host a discussion at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of the World Bank Group and IMF Annual Meetings’ Civil Society Policy Forum. This session will explore the IMF’s work on climate since it was identified by the Fund as an ‘emerging issue’ in 2015, including looking at what steps the Fund has taken thus far in the areas of research and policy. The panel will also discuss the Fund’s role with respect to the looming climate crisis, focusing on the already-existing impact of climate change on climate vulnerable countries’ debt profiles, as well as the threat to global macroeconomic stability presented by undisclosed climate risks.

Panellists included Signe Krogstrup, the Assistant Governor and Head of Economics and Monetary Policy at Danmarks Nationalbank, the Danish central bank; Heron Belfon, the Director of Jubilee Caribbean; Irene Monasterolo, Assistant Professor of Climate Economics and Finance at Vienna University of Economics and Business; and Paolo Mauro, the Deputy Director of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department. The discussion was chaired by Ulrich Volz, the Founding Director of the SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance.

Speakers: Signe Krogstrup (Danmarks Nationalbank), Heron Belfon (Jubilee Caribbean), Irene Monasterolo (Vienna University of Economics and Business), Paolo Mauro (IMF), Ulrich Volz (SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance).

Organiser: Centre for Sustainable Finance, Brettonwoods Project

Released by: SOAS Economics Podcast

Donghyun Park (Asian Development Bank)

According to Asian Development Outlook 2019 Update (ADOU), Asian Development Bank's flagship report launched on 25 September, developing Asia’s growth will continue to moderate, from 5.9% in 2018 to 5.4% in 2019 and 5.5% in 2020. Inflation will pick up slightly due to food price inflation. Downside risks continue to outweigh upside risks. While the on-going PRC-US trade conflict poses by far the biggest downside risk to the region, the buildup of debt, which rose by two thirds in the last decade, may also threaten stability and growth. A special analytical section of ADOU empirically analyzes the effect of public and private debt build-up on financial vulnerability, proxied by a measure of exchange rate pressure.

Speaker Biography:

Dr. Donghyun Park is currently Principal Economist at the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department (ERCD) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which he joined in April 2007. Prior to joining ADB, he was a tenured Associate Professor of Economics at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Dr. Park has a Ph.D. in economics from UCLA, and his main research fields are international finance, international trade, and development economics. His research, which has been published extensively in journals and books, revolves around policy-oriented topics relevant for Asia’s long-term development, including middle-income trap, service sector development, and financial sector development. Dr. Park plays a leading role in the production of Asian Development Outlook, ADB’s biannual flagship publication on macroeconomic issues, and leads the team that produces Asia Bond Monitor, ADB’s quarterly flagship report on emerging Asian bond markets.

Speakers: Donghyun Park (Asian Development Bank) and Satoshi Miyamura (SOAS)

Released by: SOAS Economics Podcasts

Machiko Nissanke (SOAS), Raphael Kaplinsky (University of Sussex), Stephany Griffith-Jones (Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University), Antonio Andreoni (SOAS)

Book launch of The Palgrave Handbook of Development Economics: Critical Reflections on Globalisation and Development. Edited by Machiko Nissanke and Jose-Antonio O’Campo.

SOAS Economics has been leading teaching and research in Political Economy, Development Economics and Heterodox Economics and has participated in core policy debates, including those on sustainable development. SOAS Economics continues to foster the next generation of Economists and Political Economists across the globe while its research continues to drive academic thinking and policy debates in the UK and internationally. Our aim, individually as researchers, and as an academic department, continues to be the teaching and research of Economics and Political Economy for a Fairer World. This has never been more urgent, given the challenges we face on global, national and local levels, from the rise of nationalist politics and entrenching economic inequalities to the intensifying environmental challenges. This annual event will be an opportunity to showcase the Department’s contributions to these urgent questions and invite discussion on the direction of future SOAS Economics research. Our guests include alumni, current SOAS Economics researchers and friends and collaborators sharing our research interests.

Through this event, we hope to initiate lively discussions and debates on the most pressing economic questions facing our society and the globe. We invite current, prospective and former students and researchers to be part of this conversation.

This podcast has been edited.

Panel III (book launch): Book launch of The Palgrave Handbook of Development Economics: Critical Reflections on Globalisation and Development. Edited by Machiko Nissanke and Jose-Antonio O’Campo.

Speakers: Machiko Nissanke (SOAS); Raphael Kaplinsky (University of Sussex); Stephany Griffith-Jones (Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University); Antonio Andreoni (SOAS)

Elisa Van Waeyenberge (SOAS), Deborah Johnston (SOAS), Peter Andreas Nielsen (Common Fund for Commodities and SOAS Alumna, and Hannah Bargawi (SOAS)

SOAS Economics has been leading teaching and research in Political Economy, Development Economics and Heterodox Economics and has participated in core policy debates, including those on sustainable development. SOAS Economics continues to foster the next generation of Economists and Political Economists across the globe while its research continues to drive academic thinking and policy debates in the UK and internationally. Our aim, individually as researchers, and as an academic department, continues to be the teaching and research of Economics and Political Economy for a Fairer World. This has never been more urgent, given the challenges we face on global, national and local levels, from the rise of nationalist politics and entrenching economic inequalities to the intensifying environmental challenges. This annual event will be an opportunity to showcase the Department’s contributions to these urgent questions and invite discussion on the direction of future SOAS Economics research. Our guests include alumni, current SOAS Economics researchers and friends and collaborators sharing our research interests.

Through this event, we hope to initiate lively discussions and debates on the most pressing economic questions facing our society and the globe. We invite current, prospective and former students and researchers to be part of this conversation.

This podcast has been edited.

Panel VI : 65 YEARS OF TEACHING ECONOMICS AT SOAS – LOOKING BACK AND MOVING FORWARDS/ TOWARDS A FAIRER WORLD

Chair: Elisa Van Waeyenberge (SOAS)

Panel: Deborah Johnston (SOAS), Peter Andreas Nielsen (Common Fund for Commodities and SOAS Alumna, and Hannah Bargawi (SOAS)

Mariana Mortágua (MP in Portguese Parliament and SOAS Alumna), Richard Kozul-Wright (UNCTAD), Costas Lapavitsas (SOAS), Ourania Dimakou (SOAS).

SOAS Economics has been leading teaching and research in Political Economy, Development Economics and Heterodox Economics and has participated in core policy debates, including those on sustainable development. SOAS Economics continues to foster the next generation of Economists and Political Economists across the globe while its research continues to drive academic thinking and policy debates in the UK and internationally. Our aim, individually as researchers, and as an academic department, continues to be the teaching and research of Economics and Political Economy for a Fairer World. This has never been more urgent, given the challenges we face on global, national and local levels, from the rise of nationalist politics and entrenching economic inequalities to the intensifying environmental challenges. This annual event will be an opportunity to showcase the Department’s contributions to these urgent questions and invite discussion on the direction of future SOAS Economics research. Our guests include alumni, current SOAS Economics researchers and friends and collaborators sharing our research interests.

Through this event, we hope to initiate lively discussions and debates on the most pressing economic questions facing our society and the globe. We invite current, prospective and former students and researchers to be part of this conversation.

This podcast has been edited.

Panel V : THE ROLE OF FINANCE AND MACROECONOMIC POLICY-MAKING FOR A FAIRER WORLD

Chair: Ourania Dimakou (SOAS)

Panel: Mariana Mortágua (MP in Portguese Parliament and SOAS Alumna), Richard Kozul-Wright (UNCTAD), Costas Lapavitsas (SOAS), Ourania Dimakou (SOAS).