This coming semester is very exciting for the Post Crash Economics Society. We have planned a series of lectures under the title Pluralism in Practice. Not only is pluralism in economics important for a thorough understanding of economics, it is also necessary if we wish for our economic systems to evolve to face the challenges that the coming century will bring.
“The stats don’t lie…or do they?”; Speaker: Deirdre McCloskey; Date: 10/03/21
In the last half century, economics has evolved to include far more mathematics and quantitative methods in its analysis. Econometrics as a field was pioneered in the early 1900s and as technology developed, in particular the increases in computational power enabling the analysis of large data sets, econometrics and its models developed and became widespread. Today, very few branches of economics do not involve some form of statistical modelling to determine whether a relationship is “significant”. Often, the level of significance can be a relatively arbitrary figure: perhaps a 95% significant level. This unbending focus on statistical modelling as our main predictor of economic events is questionable, especially when the level by which we judge its significance can be somewhat random. It is undeniable that statistics is woven into economics but how much should we rely on it?
On the 10th of March Deirdre McCloskey will be joining us via zoom to discuss the implications of the focus on statistical models in economics. Deirdre Nansen McCloskey is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Economics and of History at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Trained at Harvard in the 1960s, she has written twenty books and some four hundred academic articles on economic theory, economic history, philosophy, rhetoric, statistical theory, feminism, ethics, and law (McCloskey 2021). We hope her knowledge will bring a new insight into how we look at statistical modelling.
• “Tax Havens or Hell?”; Speaker: Alex Cobham; Date: 14/04/21
The Covid -19 pandemic has sparked a new recession disproportionately affecting the worse off. Furthermore, the top 0.01%’s earnings increasing substantially over this lockdown, widening inequality. In order to ensure that the damage to the economy and livelihoods is limited, spending is unlikely to decline significantly in the coming years. So how can we afford it? Although raising taxes will increase government income, there will still be vast amounts of wealth owned by the top earners and companies that will remain untouched. This is partly down to dubious international tax laws, alongside the existence of tax havens.
Alex Cobham, chief executive of the Tax Justice Network, will be joining us to discuss the effect these tax havens are having on inequality and whether a correction of the tax system can ease the effects of increased government spending over the course of the pandemic. The Tax Justice network is the leading international organisation dedicated to ending the global damage caused by tax havens and corporate tax abuse. Alex Cobham’s work focuses on illicit financial flows, effective taxation for development, and inequality. As inequality widens and government spending increases, it is ever more pressing to establish a tax system that enforces a just taxation for everyone. Alex Cobham’s insight will introduce various ideas not currently studied in economics education.
• “The Green Recovery” ; Speaker: Michael Jacobs; Date: 28/04/21
As we look to the future, the most pressing issue for any government, policy maker, and economist is how are we going to build the Covid-19 recovery to really prepare us for the next century. Given the halt in the status quo, many people are realising the immense pressure our economy and institutional systems have on the natural environment. Without a serious reconfiguration of the system, we will surely suffer the immense consequences of Climate change. The potential to succeed and develop our systems to work with nature rather than against it is great: but the potential to fail is perhaps even greater.
Michael Jacobs will be joining us to see how economics can adapt to the challenges that covid recovery brings, alongside the increasing demand and necessity of a more sustainable economy. Michael Jacobs is an economist and political scientist and commentator on political economy, international climate change and energy policy, and social democratic and green political thought.
Pluralism in economics is underrepresented in our undergraduate economics education however is necessary for the future policy makers and economists to understand so that we can build a far more just, sustainable and realistic economic system. We hope that this lecture series will introduce new ideas and schools of thought that can inspire you to delve further into these fascinating fields.
Written by Janina George-Smith
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