Frontiers in pluralist economics

The increasing intensity, frequency, and unequal distribution of human-induced climate change impacts, alongside the crossing of several other global ecological boundaries, rising social injustices, geopolitical instabilities, and economic insecurities, are arguably all solid reasons that instill fear, frustration, poverty, and anger within large cohorts of the world population. In turn, this can lead to societal paralysis, if not outright conflicts.

Date: Monday 10 Jun 2024, 13:00 - 18:00
Type: Symposium
Spoken Language: English
Room: Paviljoen, Erasmus University Rotterdam

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As such, the world is in dire need of diverse narratives that are hopeful, ambitious, effective, and inspiring for action towards planetary health and wellbeing for all, towards economies that serve people and nature. To increase the likelihood of achieving this, we need to be more embracing of the diversity of perspectives that operate in economics thinking and research, and which consider the aforementioned challenges to be symptoms of the existing linear and extractive economic system. In other words, we need to reconsider the current dominant practices of managing our one and only home, Earth.

The Erasmus Initiative Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Climate Economics for Nature and Society (ICENS) lab invites you to the event entitled “Frontiers in pluralist economics: exploring the potential of alternative economic views for inclusive prosperity”. The aim is to start raising awareness about and foster pluralism in economic thought and practice that reimagines and reconfigures our economies for inclusive prosperity. Guest speakers will share their perspectives, expertise, and research on how alternative schools of economic thought can in fact help addressing the complex polycrisis of the Anthropocene.

In this event, we will seek for answers to questions such as:

How various alternative schools of economic thought differ or are similar in their responses to the challenges of climate change and social inequalities?
Are these responses compatible or conflicting?
If they are conflicting, how can they then work together in ways which will allow us to stay within planetary boundaries while fostering prosperity and wellbeing for everyone?
Can meaningful change take place while being locked in the current economic system and if yes, how?

If you are interested in such questions, then please join our open free event for which more information is provided below.

Programme

Time	Speaker and topic
13:00 - 13:30	Arrival and registration
13:30 - 13:45	Filippos Zisopoulos & Martin de Jong	Welcome
13:45 - 14:15	Serban Scrieciu	Pluralism in climate economics
14:15 - 14:45	Katy Gillespie	Feminist economics
14:45 - 15:00	Break
15:00 - 15:30	Brian Fath	Ecological economics
15:30 - 16:00	Michael Roos	Complexity economics
16:00 - 16:15	Break
16:15 - 16:55	Panel discussion
16:55 - 17:00	Martin de Jong	Closing words
17:00 - 18:00	Reception

Speakers

Brian Fath
Brian D. Fath is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Towson University (Maryland, USA) teaching courses on Ecosystem Ecology, Environmental Science, and Human Ecology. He is also a Senior Research Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Laxenburg, Austria) and since 2011, the Scientific Coordinator of IIASA’ s Young Scientists Summer Program. He has published over 200 research papers, reports, and book chapters on environmental systems modeling, specifically in the areas of network analysis, urban metabolism, and sustainability. He co-authored, among others, the books A New Ecology: Systems Perspective (2020), Foundations for Sustainability: A Coherent Framework of Life–Environment Relations (2019), and Flourishing within Limits to Growth: Following Nature’s Way (2015). He served as Editor for 6-volume Handbook of Environmental Management (2020) and 4-volume Encyclopedia of Ecology (2019).
Dr. Fath is also Editor-in-Chief for the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Resource Management and past Editor in Chief of Ecological Modelling (2009 – 2020). He was the 2016 recipient of the Prigogine Medal for outstanding work in systems ecology and twice a Fulbright Distinguished Chair (Parthenope University, Naples, Italy, in 2012 and Masaryk University, Czech Republic, in 2019).
Katy Gillespie
Katy Gillespie is a final-year PhD candidate at the WiSE Centre for Economic Justice, Glasgow Caledonian University. Her research interests are in feminist theory and gender studies. Receiving her undergraduate and master’s degrees from Glasgow University, Katy's PhD research investigates the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the divisions of unpaid care labour between heterosexual partner couples in Scottish households. Building upon existing quantitative studies, the research draws upon joint and individual qualitative interviews with couples to understand the complex, lived experiences of how they organised their paid employment and unpaid and household responsibilities during, and post-government stay home measures. Alongside her research, she holds a tutoring position on an MSc Feminist Economics course. Specialising in qualitative research methods, Katy's work illuminates the nuanced experiences of couples navigating intrahousehold care divisions amidst the pandemic, offering valuable insights for theory and policy development. Her findings advocate for feminist strategies and sustainable change, emphasising the pivotal role of care work in the economy – an aspect often undervalued by current policy and government systems.
Michael Roos
Michael Roos is professor of macroeconomics at Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany. He is also the speaker of the Center for Environmental Management, Resources and Energy of the Department of Management and Economics at Ruhr-University Bochum. Michael Roos obtained his PhD and habilitation degree from TU Dortmund and was a lecturer in economics at the University of East Anglia, UK, before coming to Bochum. His main research field is complexity economics with a focus on sustainability transition. He led various research projects on mobility transition, energy transition, circular economy, values in the economy and other topics. Methodologically, he has special expertise in agent-based modeling, system dynamics modeling, economic experiments and scenario analysis.
Serban Scrieciu
Şerban is an honorary senior research fellow (Bartlett School of Environment, Energy, and Resources) and a teaching fellow (UCL Summer School) at University College London, where he leads the summer module "Economics for Sustainability: Climate Change and Social Inequalities". He is also employed with the European Commission in Brussels (currently on personal leave), where he works on the economics underpinning EU climate, energy, social and industrial policy proposals and assessments. Şerban is the founder and director of the freshly established Interdisciplinary Climate Economics for Nature and Society (ICENS) lab, which encourages pluralism in economic thinking and interactions between economics and the arts and humanities.
Şerban’s background is in the economics of sustainability, particularly on the economics of climate change mitigation action. He has worked not only in academia (e.g. University College London, University of Cambridge, the University of Manchester), but also in the international policy environment (e.g. European Commission, the United Nations Environment Programme). His most recent policy work was on drafting EU legislation on supporting the manufacturing of low-carbon technologies in Europe (the Net Zero Industry Act - NZIA). Şerban is natively from Romania, with an MA degree from the University of Sussex and a PhD from The University of Manchester in UK. When time permits, he also enjoys urban photography, and discovering places and cultures.