From Maria Alejandra and WEA Pedagogy Blog
Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, professor at the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences in Paris, challenges our understanding of the current energy transition process.
In his book “The Shock of the Anthropocene: The Earth, History, and Us,” co-authored with Christophe Bonneuil, Fressoz offers a critical history of the Anthropocene, the current geological epoch defined by significant human impact on Earth’s geology and ecosystems. The authors challenge the conventional view of the Anthropocene as a recent phenomenon, arguing that human influence on the environment has deep historical roots. The book explores how industrialism, consumerism, and the manufacture of ignorance have contributed to environmental degradation. The book also scrutinizes

From Maria Alejandra and WEA Pedagogy Blog
Setting the scene
Economists and policymakers continue to dominate headlines with the conceptualization of “sustainability,” “sustainable investing,” and “sustainable finance,” along with their various worldwide geographical manifestations. The prevailing scenario, which is characterized by conflict, economic instability, and political disputes, is not favorable to incorporating sustainability into investment decisions. However, pressing environmental and socioeconomic issues, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, population expansion, urbanization, and health emergencies, are exerting pressure on both short-term and long-term public and private initiatives.
Indeed, the volume expansion of sustainable investment has

From Maria Alejandra Madi
I am writing today about a new online conference of the World Economics Association ”Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy 80 years later: Looking at capitalism today in light of its past and possible future”.  It runs from 1st February to 28th February, 2024. 
You can find more information about it here: https://capitalismanddemocracy2024.weaconferences.net/

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Arturo Hermann and I are aleading the conference and we both feel that your voice on current economic, social and poltiical challenges would be invaluable and very relevant for the conference Discussion Forum.
In order to shed more light on our uncertain times and to keep the practise of undertaking pluralist and

2024 WEA Online Conference. CAPITALISM, SOCIALISM AND DEMOCRACY 80 YEARS LATER – the relevance of the issues raised by Schumpeter 
 On the WEA Conference website, you can find all the details for submissions
and participation: https://schumpeter2024.weaconferences.net/
Starting from Schumpeter’s book, this WEA Online Conference, led by Arturo Hermann and Maria Alejandra Madi, would promote an open debate on how these concepts of Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy characterise our economies and their possible evolution.
The current state of capitalism, socialism, and democracy presents an opportunity to reexamine the insightful ideas put forth by Schumpeter. Starting from Schumpeter’s book, the conference would promote an open debate on how the concepts of Capitalism, Socialism and

From Maria Alejandra Madi 
Podcasts, which can now be easily accessed online, have had a recent surge in popularity, which may be attributed to their convenience. These podcasts discuss a wide range of topics that are related to the professional and academic spheres. The issue that naturally emerges is what exactly makes it qualified to be regarded as a scholarship approach.
To put this another way, what exactly is it about this method that qualifies it to be used as an academic methodology?  The phrase “scholarly podcasting” may mean a variety of different things to a broad variety of different people depending on the context in which it is used. This is due to the fact that the previous knowledge and experiences of the listeners might have a role in determining how they understand

From Maria Alejandra Madi

Regarding Western democracies, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, two Harvard scholars, think that the answer is yes. They base their answer on decades of study and a wide range of historical and modern cases, from 1930s Europe to modern Hungary, Turkey, Venezuela, North and South America. Instead of a revolution or a military takeover, the authors believe that there will be a steady and slow breakdown of long-standing democratic rules and institutions. For them, democracy is “a system of government with regular, free, and fair elections, in which all adult citizens have the right to vote and possess basic civil liberties such as freedom of speech and association” (p. 8).
What is Levitsky and Ziblatt’s goal? “How” is their focus, since the book looks at the

From Maria Alejandra Madi and WEA Pedeaogy Blog
Podcasts, which can now be easily accessed online, have had a recent surge in popularity, which may be attributed to their convenience. These podcasts discuss a wide range of topics that are related to the professional and academic spheres. The issue that naturally emerges is what exactly makes it qualified to be regarded as a scholarship approach.
To put this another way, what exactly is it about this method that qualifies it to be used as an academic methodology?  The phrase “scholarly podcasting” may mean a variety of different things to a broad variety of different people depending on the context in which it is used. This is due to the fact that the previous knowledge and experiences of the listeners might have a role in determining

From Maria Alejandra Madi and WEA Pedagogy Blog
Hayek proposed the abolition of the government’s monopoly on the issuance of fiat money in his book “Denationalisation of Money: The Argument Refined” (1976). In reality, his support for a complete privatization of the money supply stemmed from his dissatisfaction with the management of central banks, which, in his opinion, had been heavily influenced by political considerations. As a result, the ultimate goal of Hayek’s denationalisation of money was to prevent political interference in the conduct of monetary policy, and therefore, price instability.
As a result, the denationalization of money would be accomplished through the complete abolition of the government’s monopoly on the issuance of fiat money. In the context of a free market

From Maria Alejandra Mad
In the 1960s, Hayek argued that: “in the field of complex phenomena, the term” law “, as well as the concepts of cause and effect, are not applicable”. Regarding “The Theory of Complex Phenomena”, Hayek warned that in the case of complex phenomena, the scientist must give priority to the development of theoretical assumptions, instead of privileging empirical tests. The economist perceives the market system as a complex system in which the coordination process of decentralized individual plans takes place.
According to his approach, cognition and evolution are social phenomena intertwined in a historical process. read more

TRADE WARS AFTER CORONAVIRUSEconomic, political and theoretical implications
A webinar from the WEA
Friday May 28, 2021.   5pm-7pm,  London Time.   
LINK:  meet.google.com/nxr-ucuj-agf    
1. WELCOME. Maria Alejandra Madi, Chair WEA Conference Programme
2. PRESENTATIONS
America’s Trade Deficits: Blame U.S. Policies – Starting with Tax Laws
Kenneth E. Austin
University of Maryland
The interplays of US, China and their intellectual monopolies
Cecilia Rikap and Ariel Slipak
Cecilia Rikap: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and CEPED, IRD/Université de Pari; Ariel Slipak: Universidad de Buenos Aires and Universidad Nacional de Moreno, Argentina.
The War on Trade and its Theoretical Implications Oscar Ugarteche
Leader of the WEA Conference TRADE WARS AFTER

From Maria Alejandra Madi
While the study of wicked problems is not new, there is a need to develop a broader understanding of its scope in policies under the paradigm of complexity. The origin of the term “wicked Problem” goes back to Rittel and Webber’s (1973) questioning of the validity of technical-scientific approaches in social policy and urban planning. In the face of complexity and uncertainty, these problems require iterative approaches, with the consideration of multiple causes and stakeholders.
More than four decades later, however, there are strong arguments for the development of new topics generated, such as problem framing, policy design, policy capacity and the contexts of policy implementation. According to the OECD, wicked problems are dynamic and persistent in

From Maria Alejandra Madi
Ten years after the 2008 global financial crisis, the commodification of health, the spread of fiscal austerity programmes, deep social marginalization and climate change challenges revealed that health issues are “vital matters” that economists should address. Moreover, the outcomes of the coronavirus crisis call for a reflection on the contemporary threatens related to individual freedom, control on individuals and insecurity in social interrelations.
Indeed, it has long seemed to me the need to call for reflection and action upon what is ethical in our behavior in the world and the role of ethics in economics education.
In a recent piece titled “How Should Colleges Prepare for a Post-Pandemic World”, published in The Chronicle of Higher Education

From Maria Alejandra Madi
The fundamental structural flaws in the global economy have not been addressed after the 2008 global crisis.  Monopoly-finance capital became increasingly dependent on bubbles that, both in credit and capital markets, proved to be globally the sources of endogenous financial fragility. This process was reinforced, in a vicious circle, by a concentration of income, wealth and power. By negatively influencing labour and working conditions, it became increasingly difficult for effective demand to reach the level of full employment. In response to this situation, credit policies fostered consumers to expand their spending through increasing debt. While public spending on social and infrastructural objectives was severely restricted, it expanded in other areas,

From Maria Alejandra Madi
The  United States declared an economic war on China in early 2018. Economic warfare is a unilateral action that questions the existence of multilateralism and places the question of what regime we are about to enter after the weakening of the existing multilateral trade agencies. US trade policy opens the door for new relationships between emerging market economies and international financial institutions on issues of liberalisation but mostly it ends a period started in the 1980’s of unregulated international trade and opens a new one. The solution to the structural economic problems of the US, similar to those of Britain in the 1960’s is not tariffs and trade restrictions. The trade war is above all a war that will be won by one side at some point.
The

From Maria Alejandra Madi
Since the 2008 global financial crisis, the financial regulation scenario faces new drivers and challenges.  Bank transactions by internet and mobile banking have sharply increased. In this digital environment, new technologies – such as advanced analytics, big data, in addition to the use of robotics, artificial intelligence, new forms of encryption and biometrics – have been enabling changes in the provision of financial products and services. The current wave of financial innovations is being increasingly oriented to more friendly digital channels through apps in the context of mobile banking strategies that privilege the development of open banking and further interactions with social media
Indeed, the increasing digitalization of financial transactions is

From Maria Alejandra Madi
Against a rationalist top down approach to policy making, the evidence-informed policy and practice has rapidly evolved in the last two decades.
In this line of research, a new book What Works Now? Evidence-informed Policy and Practice has been edited by Annette Boaz, Huw Davies, Alec Fraser and Sandra Nutley.  It offers not only a synthesis of the role of evidence in policy making but also an analysis of its use in recent economic models and practices in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Canada and the United States. In addition to the diversity of policy and practice settings where evidence is sought and gets applied, the book considers policy examples related to healthcare, social care, criminal justice, education, environment and international

From Maria Alejandra Madi                  
GOING DIGITAL conference site
The advent of digital economy creates new challenges for businesses, workers, and policymakers. Moreover, business prospects for artificial intelligence and machine learning are evolving quickly. These technologies have transforming implications for all industries, businesses of all sizes, and societies. The digitalization of economic activities calls for a deep reflection on the forces that will shape the future of the global economy.
The objective of this conference, led by Prof. Maria Alejandra Madi and Dr. Malgorzata Dereniowska, is to discuss recent contributions to the understanding of digital economy and its consequences for business trends and labour challenges. The conference also focuses on bridging the

From Maria Alejandra Madi
Throughout the last decades, the nominal interest rate became the dominant monetary policy instrument. Looking backward, the early 1980s proved to be a transition period in terms of monetary policy. After the monetarist experiences of Thatcher and Reagan, there was a pragmatic shift from the supply of the monetary base to the interest rate as monetary policy instrument. The recognition that the control of the monetary base could not only impose extreme volatility to the interest rate but also deeply affect the whole economy challenged, in fact, the previously stable empirical relationship between money supply, demand for money, prices, and income supported by Milton Friedman.
At the theoretical level, the so-called “New Consensus in Macroeconomics” favoured

From Maria Alejandra Madi
My last post on Behavioural Economics arose some interesting questions about the rationality of the neoliberal governance of the self and its relation to the current research about psychology and cognitive theories. (https://rwer.wordpress.com/2019/03/20/beyond-behavioral-economics-the-self-governance-of-nudging/#comment-150149)
The neoliberal governance of self-care (or neoliberal governance of the self) relies on Dual Process Cognitive Theories (DPTs), especially the one elaborated by Daniel Kahneman. According to him, the distinction between Econs and Humans rejects the concept of homo oeconomicus of the neoclassical theory.  The human brain functions in ways that refer to a distinction between two kinds of thinking: automatic  and reflective (rational),

From Maria Alejandra Madi
Looking back, after the Second World War, new theoretical and applied work in economics fostered empirical techniques that included structural estimation, the development of input-output methods and linear programming. Among the theoretical advances, the Keynesian revolution, the mathematical modeling of the business cycle, game theory, dynamic modeling, new models of consumer behavior and general equilibrium analysis can be highlighted.
What is significant about these changes is that, as theoretical and empirical work became more formal and mathematical, the conceptions of economic theory and of its relationship to various types of applied work changed. “Measurement without theory”, as Rutledge Vining explained, means that empirical work was needed in order

From Maria Alejandra Madi
In the introductory note to the book Trade and Market, Polanyi invites the readers to re-examine the notion of the “economy” since many people think that the only way of organizing the livelihoods of men is the market economy. In his own words:
‘What is to be done, though, when it appears that some economies have operated on altogether different principles, showing a widespread use of money, and far-flung trading activities, yet no evidence of markets or gain made on buying or selling? It is then that we must re-examine our notions of the economy.’ (Polanyi et al, 1957: xvii).
In order to develop an alternative notion of the “economy”, Polanyi proposed a new theoretical approach to explain the place and role of human beings in social and economic systems. He

From Maria Alejandra Madi
A decade after the 2008 global crisis, some key trends can be highlighted: a) There has been a shift to defined contribution (DC) pension plans, b) The increasing role of alternative assets, such as private equity, among pension assets.
Many governments in OCDE countries have been committed to structural reforms in labour markets and pension plans. As a result, the current era of austerity has deep impacts on the diversification of types of pension plans. According to a 2018 OCDE  report, in a mandatory pension plan, a) employers setup a plan for their employees, b) employees contribute to a state funded pension scheme or c) employees contribute a private pension fund of their choice.  In a quasi-mandatory, employers need to setup a pension plan as a result of

From Maria Alejandra Madi
Global warming and global CO2 emissions are interconnected. In 2018, heatwaves were observed in Europe, Asia, North America and northern Africa, while the extent of Arctic sea ice has been continuously dropping. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the last four years (2015-2018) have been the warmest years on record. In particular, between January and October 2018, global average temperature increased 0.98 degrees Celsius above the levels of 1850-1900. If this trend continues, temperatures may rise by 3-5 degrees Celsius by 2100.
Global CO2 emissions have also been increasing in the last years. China and the US together account for more than 40% of the global total CO2 emissions, according to 2017 data from the European Commission’s Joint

From  Maria Alejandra Madi
Economic conditions are constantly changing. Today, our generation is confronted with the outcomes of contemporary globalization that is a broader, complex, and multifaceted process characterized by new markets, new actors and new rules. Indeed, globalization has produced many changes in our economy, society, culture, and politics. As a result, deep pressures to conform to new standards of behavior, such as efficiency and competitive performance, have forced individuals and communities not only to rethink values and practices but also to rebalance tradition and change.
In the scenario of globalized markets, individuals and communities face many challenges to be resilient because of the changes in markets, wealth and power. Throughout the last forty years,

From Maria Alejandra Madi
Traditional epistemological theories have fostered an endless debate on dichotomies characterized by forms of objectivism, on the one hand, and forms of relativism/skepticism on the other. Currently, among the deep global social and cultural challenges, the crisis in epistemology is characterized by a radical questioning of the whole matrix within which such dichotomies have been drawn.
Taking into account the evolution of Economics as a science, the need for a deep epistemological has already been pointed out by outstanding economists.  Joseph Schumpeter, for example,  rejected the kind of economic thought that mainly favours deductive methods of inquiry – based on mathematical reasoning- because this  habit  generates analytical unrealistic results that are

From Maria Alejandra Madi
Scientific epistemology is a serious business in economics—as it is in any science. Not surprisingly, therefore, discussions about value-ladeness tend to focus on theoretical and methodological issues within the discipline, while the question of the social consequences of science is approached with more reservation. And for many good reasons, one may say, because it is not entirely up to scientists how will the scientific product be disseminated and interpreted in society, or how will it be used by policy makers. Or, that’s not the job of the scientist, one could reason, to determine and be ready for all possible applicative scenarios.
Since the last few decades, research practices have undergone a far-reaching transformation at the interface between science,

From Maria Alejandra Madi
In the new millennium, the proliferation of financial assets, with  unstable economic growth, has given way to widespread precarious jobs, income gaps and weaker welfare programs. The same policies that have obliterated social services and kept labour cheap have supported the expansion of short-termism and new global business models in the context of deregulated capitalism.
Besides, the onset of the 21st century represents a new political age  overwhelmed by the violation of democratic ideals of political equality and social peace. Indeed,  democracy has been allowing for election to office but not to power (Madi, 2015). And, as a consequence, policy makers might give priority to their sponsors instead of the needs of citizens – decent work and income

From Maria Alejandra Madi
Malgorzata Dereniowska: Welcome to “Dialogos: Economics Education and Pedagogy,” Peter! In this interview we will focus on the questions of institutional change in economics education system, economic pedagogy and social responsibility of universities.
Could you tell me something about your background and your professional experience as a teacher of economics?
Peter Söderbaum: As a student at Uppsala University I became interested in political science, economics and business management (or business economics). My first teaching experiences were at Uppsala University and the department of economics (course in international economics) but I later moved to the department of business management where I was teaching marketing courses and also took my PhD on

From Maria Alejandra Madi
Alfred Marshall wrote in his Principles of Economics that “economic conditions are constantly changing, and each generation looks at its own problems in its own way” (1920, p. v.). Our generation is confronted with many problems including climate change, environmental damage, disruptive innovations, inequality, indebtedness, youth unemployment, besides a health care crisis. At the center of these problems, however, is the discipline of economics itself and economics education.
The mathematization of economics was done in the name of science, but in doing so, the mainstream of the academic community has renounced its claim to studying the actual economy. In this respect, it is worth remembering  Keynes’ critique of  the behaviour of pofessional economists at

From Maria Alejandra Madi
The current WEA Conference: Monetary Policy after the Global Crisis marks the tenth anniversary of the greatest recession after 1929-33. The aims of this conference include discussing key theoretical insights in order:
To provide a framework for improving monetary policy practices.
To review and advance knowledge on the recent financial crisis regarding the main challenges and prospects of central banking.
To particularly survey and discuss the use of Divisia monetary aggregates and their potential role to address central bank challenges economic vulnerabilities.
Therefore, our main goal is to establish a global forum for confronting of the opposite views about
the causes and consequences of the Great Crisis.
the current challenges to central banking.
the role