Contributor(s): Professor Joseph Stiglitz | In his new book The Euro: And its Threat to Europe, Nobel Prize-winning economist and bestselling author Joseph Stiglitz argues that saving Europe may mean abandoning the Euro. Stiglitz dismantles the prevailing consensus around what ails Europe and dismisses the champions of austerity. Instead, Stiglitz will show that Europe’s stagnation and bleak outlook are a direct result of the fundamental flaws in the euro project – economic integration...

Contributor(s): Ryan Pyle | Join adventurer and TV presenter, Ryan Pyle as he talks about his two months traveling through the most remote and exciting locations in Brazil, on his latest season of Tough Rides: Brazil. Born in Toronto, Canada, Ryan Pyle (@RyanPyle) spent his early years close to home. After obtaining a degree in International Politics from the University of Toronto in 2001, Ryan realised a life long dream and traveled to China on an exploratory mission. In 2002 Ryan moved to...

Contributor(s): Sir Malcolm Rifkind | For almost forty years, Malcolm Rifkind served at the forefront of British politics. In this lecture, Sir Malcolm will give a lively account of his years in government and opposition, detailing his involvement in some of recent history’s most important events. This event marks the launch of Sir Malcolm's new book, Power and Pragmatism: The Memoirs of Malcolm Rifkind. Sir Malcolm Rifkind was born in Edinburgh in 1946. He served for 33 years in Parliament...

Contributor(s): Chrystia Freeland | In a world of growing protectionist trends, how can trade respond to the concerns of people who feel they were left behind, and how can we shape the 21st century inclusive trade agenda that everyone will benefit from. Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland) is Canada’s Minister of International Trade. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University, and continued her studies on a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University. Before becoming a Member of...

Contributor(s): Ruchir Sharma | Ruchir Sharma explores the forces triggering political revolts and economic slowdowns in every major region. By narrowing down the thousands of factors that can shape a country’s future, he spells out ten clear rules for identifying the next big winners and losers in the global economy. Ruchir Sharma will also discuss what light his analysis and data casts on our economic prospects after Brexit. This event marks the launch of his new book, The Rise and Fall of...

Contributor(s): Dr Gabriel Zucman | This lecture will discuss how big the wealth hidden in offshore tax havens is, what are the consequences for inequality, how tax havens work and are organized, and how we can begin to approach a solution. Gabriel Zucman (@gabriel_zucman) is Assistant Professor of Economics at UC Berkeley. He's the author of The Hidden Wealth of Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens. Camille Landais is Associate Professor in Economics, London School of Economics, and Co-Editor,...

Contributor(s): Dr Adam Perkins, Dr Kitty Stewart | In this lecture Dr Perkins argues that welfare policies which increase the number of children born into disadvantaged households risk proliferating dysfunctional, employment-resistant personality characteristics, due to the damaging effect on personality development of exposure to childhood disadvantage. Adam Perkins (@AdamPerkinsPhD) is a Lecturer in the Neurobiology of Personality at King’s College London. Kitty Stewart (@kittyjstewart) is...

Contributor(s): Professor Simon Hix | Presented by the Harold Laski Chair and Professor of Political Science, Simon Hix, this lecture will discuss the political and economic ramifications for Britain and Europe following the EU Referendum results. Professor Simon Hix is one of the leading researchers, teachers, and commentators on EU politics and institutions in the UK. He has published over 100 books and articles on various aspects of EU, European, British and comparative politics. He...

Contributor(s): Branko Milanovic | The talk will discuss empirically recent changes in global income distribution, creation of a “global middle class”, stagnation of median incomes in the West and propose Kuznets cycles as a useful tool to understand these changes and their future evolution. Branko Milanovic (@BrankoMilan) is Senior Scholar at the Luxembourg Income Study Center, and Visiting Presidential Professor, Graduate Center, City University of New York. His new book is Global...

Contributor(s): Professor Joseph Henrich | The ability of human groups to socially interconnect and learn from one another has allowed us to create ingenious technologies, sophisticated languages, and complex institutions that have enabled successful expansion into myriad environments. Drawing insights from lost European explorers, clever chimpanzees, mobile hunter-gatherers, neuroscience, ancient bones, and the human genome, Joseph Henrich, author of The Secret of Our Success, will discuss...

Contributor(s): Elizabeth Crawford, Dr Ann Dingsdale, Jane Grant | Some people are inclined to begin a subdued kind of agitation for the franchise: the evolution of the women’s suffrage movement, 1866-1928. From its quiet and uncertain beginnings in 1866 the women’s suffrage movement gathered momentum through the 19th century until in the early 20th it became one of the topical issues of the day. This lecture will discuss the evolution of the suffrage societies through which the campaign was...

Contributor(s): Mmusi Maimane, Dr Kate Orkin | The institutions of South Africa’s democracy are under strain, making the miracle of South Africa’s democracy more vulnerable and fragile than perhaps any time since its inception in 1994. The Leader of the Opposition in South Africa will discuss the challenges faced in trying to root democracy in a divided, unequal and economically unstable society. Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) is currently the Leader of the Opposition in South Africa’s...

Contributor(s): Catherine Audard, Professor Geoffrey Bennington, Professor François Noudelman | What does it mean to take philosophy beyond academia and into the public sphere? What is the value of philosophy in the contemporary world? In this event, held to mark 20 years of 'thinking in public' for the Forum, the panel will address the complex relations between philosophy, politics, and the public space. How has the project of thinking in public changed? Does it have a future? Catherine...

Contributor(s): Dr Chris Bickerton | For most of us today, 'Europe' refers to the European Union. At the centre of a seemingly never-ending crisis, the EU remains a black box, closed to public understanding. Is it a state? An empire? Is Europe ruled by Germany or by European bureaucrats? Does a single European economy exist after all these years of economic integration? And should the EU have been awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2012? Critics tell us the EU undermines democracy. Are they...

Contributor(s): Dr Laura Bear, Anna Coote, Dr Andrea Muehlebach, Dr Carly Schuster | This panel discussion will look beyond the present into a future without austerity. Participants will discuss the proposals for a social calculus to be applied to government policy and sovereign debt relations as proposed in Laura Bear’s recent book, Navigating Austerity: currents of debt along a South Asian River (Stanford University Press 2015). How can we develop new forms of policy and politics that...

Contributor(s): Sam Smethers | Discover the present and future feminist agenda for the Fawcett Society, reflections on progress achieved, what we learn from history and the likely challenges ahead. Sam will also address the resurgence in feminism and the associated backlash, the discrimination experienced by different generations of women both historically and today, and the challenges for Fawcett of remaining relevant for today and tomorrow. Sam Smethers (@Samsmethers) is Chief Executive of...

Contributor(s): Professor Alan Sked | This talk will include an analysis of the failings of the EU and the advantages of Brexit. Alan Sked is Emeritus Professor of International History at LSE. He is an expert on European and British history and his books have been translated into several European languages as well as Chinese and Japanese. His whole academic career was spent in the International History Department although between 1981 and 1991 he was Convenor of LSE's postgraduate European...

Contributor(s): Professor Tariq Ramadan | In our globalised world, pluralism is a fact and equality, a hope. We need to start with the basic statement reminding every one of us that we are all equal and we should be treated with the same dignity, whatever our gender, our colour, our religion or our social status. This is elementary, yet forgotten day in, day out. Tariq Ramadan (@TariqRamadan) is a Swiss academic, philosopher and writer. He is Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at...

Contributor(s): Juli Huang, Professor David Lewis, Professor Amartya Sen | This panel will discuss why gender indicators for Bangladesh have shown a marked improvement despite various development indices not reflecting a similar upswing. Juli Huang (@Juli_Q_Huang) is a PhD candidate at LSE’s Department of Anthropology. David Lewis (@lewisd100) is Head of LSE’s Department of Social Policy. Amartya Sen is Thomas W Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard...

Contributor(s): Professor Tim Besley, Professor Sir Paul Collier | This panel of experts will explore the major challenges that state fragility poses for creating an environment conducive to sustained and inclusive economic growth. Tim Besley is School Professor of Economics and Political Science and W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics at LSE. Paul Collier is a Professor of Economics and Public Policy, University of Oxford and Director of the International Growth Centre. Robin...

Contributor(s): Dr Igor Lukšić | Many believe that this is by far the best time in history a human being can be born. Growing life expectancies, ever better medical aid and care for the elderly, IT revolution opens new windows of opportunities. But does the youth globally share this sentiment? Are those under 25 who make up almost half of the world's population happy with what their life has to offer? We have been strong on adopting agendas but not so strong in delivering them. What are we...

Contributor(s): Professor Jonathan Faull | Jonathan Faull (@FaullJonathan) has worked in senior positions across the European Commission for most of the period of the UK’s membership. His wide experience on the ‘inside’ gives him a privileged view on Britain’s performance in the European Union: its interests and strategy. This will be relevant to the follow-up after the referendum, whether Britain votes to stay or leave. Jonathan Faull is Professor of Law at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel...

Contributor(s): Professor Chang-Tai Hsieh, Professor John Sutton | This panel of experts will explore the strengths and pitfalls of China’s growth model and the lessons for African industrial development. The event will be opened the Rt Hon Desmond Swayne (@DesmondSwayne), Minister of State for International Development. Chang-Tai Hsieh is Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth (@ChicagoBooth). John Sutton is the Sir John Hicks Professor of Economics at LSE. Dr John Page is...

Contributor(s): Professor Richard H Thaler | Richard Thaler, described by The Spectator as ‘the godfather of behavioural economics’, will be in conversation with LSE Director Craig Calhoun about his book Misbehaving, an authoritative and entertaining history of behavioural economics. Richard Thaler has spent his career studying the radical notion that the central agents in the economy are humans—predictable, error-prone individuals. Traditional economics assumes rational actors. Early in his...