top of page
_DSC1569.jpg

Our History

2002

2002

THE BEGINNING

When the first Warwick Economics Summit took place in January 2002 it was the first ever inter-university undergraduate economics event in the UK. Approximately 170 students, including 40 non-Warwick students, attended lectures, debates and student-led seminars. The Summit was entitled 'No longer inevitable? The future of the World Economy after September 11th'.

2003

2003

GLOBALISATION AND
DEVELOPMENT

The theme for the 2003 event was 'Globalisation and Development' – an early sign that the Summit would focus not only on economics, but on issues such as politics and international relations. The diverse range of topics discussed at the Summit remains a tradition to this day. The second annual Summit also consolidated on the first with speakers from both the IMF and the World Bank.

 

Speakers included:

 

  • Dr. Lopez-Claros, former economist at the International Monetary Fund

  • Johannes F. Linn, former Vice President at the World Bank

  • Clive Crook, former Deputy Editor of The Economist

  • Jean Lambert, MEP

2004

2004

MONEY FOR NOTHING:
THE DIRE STRAITS OF THE
MODERN ECONOMY

The Summit quickly built a reputation for hosting the renowned speakers that it enjoys today. In 2004, the Summit welcomed around 300 students, both from Warwick and enjoyed the largest number of visitors from other universities to date.

Speakers included:

  • Tony Golding, author of The City: The Great Expectations Machine

  • Prof. Jean-Pierre Lehmann of IMD and pioneer of the EVIAN group

  • John Kay, UK economist

2005

2005

THE FIRST NOBEL LAUREATE TO SPEAK
AT WES

By 2005 the Summit was firmly established as a major event at Warwick and in the UK. The Summit sold out at 500 students, with another 1,034 on the waiting list and the number of external delegates just kept on rising, indicating how successful the Summit had been in its first three years. The Summit also enjoyed sponsorship from RBS and Barclays.

This year, WES welcomed its first Nobel Laureate, Professor John Nash (1994), who gave the keynote address.

2006

2006

THE SUMMIT EXPANDS
NATIONALLY

By 2006, the Summit was regularly attracting the biggest names in economics, business and politics – including Dr. Vince Cable, now the Coalition's Business Secretary.

 

Speakers included:

  • Prof. Dr. Norbert Walter, Managing Director at Deutsche Bank Research and Chief Economist of DB Group

  • Prof. Dean Baker, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington

  • Dr. Vincent Cable MP, Treasury Spokesman for the Liberal Democrats

2007

2007

CHALLENGING PARADIGMS

Speakers included:

 

  • Harriet Lamb, Director of The Fairtrade Foundation

  • Dr. Madsen Pirie, President of the Adam Smith Institute

  • Prof. Charles Wheelan, University of Chicago, author of "Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science"

 

In addition, it was held on the same weekend of the first Economics Ball, organised by Warwick Economics Society.

2008

2008

WORLD CLASS

By 2008 the Summit could truly call itself a world class event. Delegates arrived from universities all around the UK, but also from Europe: students from Vienna and Milan were amongst those to hear two internationally renowned British economists, John Kay and Paul Omerod.

 

Speakers included:

 

  • Prof. John Kay, UK economist: Director of several investment companies and a director of the British Bank Halifax for nine years, one of the largest retail financial services businesses in Europe

  • Paul Ormerod: multidisciplinary UK economist and writer (inc. "Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction, and Economics")

  • Edgar E. Peters - Chief Investment Strategist and Director at PanAngora Asset Management Inc., Expert on chaos theory

  • Tim Harford: British Economist, journalist and writer (inc. "The Undercover Economist")

  • Dr. Kori Udovicki- Assistant Secretary-General of UN

  • Stephen King - Group Chief Economist – HSBC

2009

2009

POLICY MAKERS AND CENTRAL BANKERS

2009's Warwick Economics Summit was the first to be attended by a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee – Kate Barker. Hundreds of students also had the chance to hear from Professor Ewald Nowotny, Governor of the Austrian National Bank.

 

Speakers included:

  • Ian Stewart, Macroeconomic Research Director of Deloitte and former Chief Economist for Europe at Merril Lynch

  • Paul Donovan, Deputy Head of Global Economics at UBS Investment Bank and member of Royal Economic Society

  • Kate Barker CBE, British economist and former external member of the Monetary Policy Committee

  • John Authers, Global Head of the business and finance column Lex of the Financial Times

  • Kevin Kallaugher, KAL, editorial cartoonist for The Economist

  • Prof. Ewald Nowotny, Governor of the Austrian National Bank

  • Patrick Birley, CEO of European Climate Exchange

2010

2010

THE CHANCELLOR SPEAKS

In 2010, the Summit hosted Alastair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer who spoke of his and the then Labour government's commitment to deficit reduction, which was widely reported on in the media due to the upcoming general election.

 

Attendance levels remained as high as ever, with the number of external students also increasing, including a delegation from UC Berkeley. The Summit also hosted its first ever promotional event, with Marek Belka, head of the National Bank of Poland, as the honoured guest speaker. 

 

Speakers included:

 

  • Fred Harrison, Economist and Research Director of “Land Research Trust”: Fred Harrison is famous for being the first economist to have predicted the global financial crises of 2007-2010

  • Prof. Abhinay Muthoo, Head of the Department of Economics at Warwick University on "Democracy and Economic Performance"

  • Karen Chouhan, Director of Equanomics-UK: Karen Couhan is the founder and Director of Equanomics-Uk

  • Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer on the government's economic strategy

  • Dr. Paul Wilmott, Researcher in Quantitative Finance on "Common Mistakes in Risk Management"

  • Digby Jones, Lord Jones, Business Ambassador at UK Trade & Investment, on "Recovery?

  • Bob Janjuah, RBS Chief Markets Stragetist, on "Debt, Deflation and Denial"

  • Kevin Kallaugher, KAL, editorial cartoonist for The Economist

  • Matthew Taylor, CEO of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA)

2011

2011

THE ROGUE TRADER

The 2011 Summit saw WES branch out even further than it had done in previous years. 16 speakers from the fields of journalism, finance, economics and academia spoke on a wide variety of intriguing topics. These included Newsnight economics editor Paul Mason, Bank of England director Andy Haldane and the notorious rogue trader, Nick Leeson. The delegates comprised 400 students from 48 universities in 17 countries with internal tickets selling out in four days, a new record at the time. As well as the high calibre of speakers during the day, an acclaimed Masquerade Ball was also held on the Saturday evening.

For the first time, the Summit was live-streamed online, which enabled non delegates to hear the speakers and ask questions. Furthermore, there was a collaborative blog with 'Europe & me' magazine covering the Summit. WES also enjoyed crucial promotional support from RBS & McKinsey in the run up to the Summit.

 

Speakers included:

 

  • Nick Leeson, Infamous trader whose unchecked risk-taking caused 'the biggest financial scandal of the 20th century', on "The Original Rogue Trader"

  • Tim Harford, FT 'Dear Economist' columnist and author of 'The Undercover Economist', on "The Economics of Sex, Alcohol and Happiness"

  • Peter Backus, Teaching Fellow at the Department of Economics, University of Warwick, on "Why I don't have a girlfriend"

  • Gregory Crawford, Econometrics lecturer at the University of Warwick, on "Doing Good with (Good) Econometrics"

  • Daniel Franklin, Executive Editor of The Economist and the Editor of The World in 2011, on "Mega Trends"

  • Andy Haldane, Executive Director of Financial Stability, The Bank of England, on "Finance and Stability"

  • Tim Congdon CBE, Economist and journalist, on "Did Quantitative Easing save the world?"

  • Paul Mason, Economics Editor for Newsnight, on "Currency Wars"

2012

2012

BRINGING ECONOMICS
TO LIFE

The 11th Warwick Economics Summit was by far the biggest and most internationally diverse in its history. Two new schemes were launched: the Future Leaders Research Competition in cooperation with Reinvention, the Journal of Undergraduate Research, and the Warwick Economics Summit Bursary, giving students with academic merit and demonstrable financial need the financial support required to come to the Summit. Winners from both new schemes attended the Summit from the University of Cambridge, Harvard University and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.

The 2012 Summit was the second Warwick Economics Summit to welcome a Nobel Laureate in Professor George A. Akerlof – but it was Dr. Adam Posen of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee who attracted the attention of the national press.

 

Speakers included:

 

  • Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, voted the best Central Bank Governor in the World in 2011 and featured in Time Magazine's TIME100 list of most influential people of 2011 on "Banking reforms in Nigeria and its Impact on the Economy"

  • Professor George A. Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences (2001) and Koshland Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley on "Phishing for Phools"

  • Dr Adam Posen, Member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee on "What we should re-learn about macroeconomics from the British Great Recession"

  • Baroness Vadera, former Government Minister and Investment Banker on "In Conversation about the Euro Crisis"

  • Rufus H. Yerxa, Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organisation on "The WTO in an Era of Change"

  • John O'Sullivan, Britain Economics Editor for The Economist on "Greece and the Euro Crisis"

  • Paul Ormerod, renowned British economist on "21st Century Economics"

2013

2013

NOT JUST A CONCEPT

The 2013 Summit proved more popular than ever as internal tickets sold out in just 12 minutes, a new record for student-run events at Warwick Students’ Union. This, along with a new brand, featuring a new website and new image, ensured the Summit was set for success. Vince Cable, the now Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, returned, and Bank of England policymaker, Martin Weale, made the news with his calls for a weaker pound to aid the British recovery.

 

Speakers included:

 

  • Andrew Bailey, Member of the Bank of England, and now Deputy Govenor for Prudential Regulation and Chief Executive Officer of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), on “Financial Regultion – the future”

  • Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), on “The Future of the World Trading System”

  • Surin Pitsuwan, 12th Secretary General of ASEAN, on “East Asia’s Economic Integration and its Implications for the Global Economy”

  • Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on “The Economic Landscape in Today’s World”

  • Sir Bob Kerslake, Head of the Civil Service, on “Local Growth and the Economist’s Role in the Civil Service”

  • Martin Weale, Member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, on “UK Balance of Payments”

2014

2014

POLICY MAKERS AND NOBEL LAUREATES

The 13th Warwick Economics Summit again saw huge demand for tickets, with internal tickets selling out in under 7 minutes, a new record. This reflected the continued success and achievements of the Summit. The 2014 summit welcomed the third Nobel Laureate to speak at a Warwick Economics Summit, in Professor Eric Maskin, who lectured alongside many distinguished speakers from the fields of policymaking, journalism and academia.

 

Speakers included:

 

  • Professor Eric S. Maskin, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences (2007) and Adams University Professor at Harvard University on "How to make the right decisions without knowing people's preferences: Mechanism Design"

  • Diane Coyle OBE, Vice Chairman of the BBC Trust & visiting Professor at the University of Manchester on "Measuring economic & social progress: how, what and why?"

  • Professor Ian Goldin, former Vice President of the World Bank on "Divided Nations: How global governance is failing and what we can do about it."

  • Ann Pettifor, Director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME) on "Just Money - How society can break the despotic power of finance."

  • Dr Gerard Lyons, Chief Economic Advisor to London Mayor Boris Johnson on "The new global economic order and why we should be positive"

  • Sir Richard Lambert, former Director-General of the CBI and Chancellor of the University of Warwick on "Can banks be reformed?"

  • Lisa Buckingham OBE, former Editor of the Financial Mail on "Breaking the Mould: Women in Leadership"

  • Victoria Chick, Emeritus Professor of Economics at University College London on "Keynes for Today?"

2015

2015

RETHINK POLICY, FINANCE, SUSTAINABILITY AND GLOBALISATION

Warwick Economics Summit 2015 portrayed impeccable success with sales of internal tickets that was completed in just less than 2 minutes! This was another new record and clearly was a testament of the success of the Summit.

 

In 2015, the event was made exceptionally interesting as a contribution of the keynote speakers such as Vitor Constancio (Vice President of the ECB), Zhu Min (Deputy Managing Director of the IMF) and many other prominent speakers to share their thoughts to talented and bright delegates from around the world. The recent new initiative of the WES 2015 team was, “Meet the Speakers” session. It provided the student the exposure to getting further insights from the speakers themselves.

 

Speakers included:

 

  • Vitor Constancio, Vice President of the European Central Bank on "Macro-prudential policies and the growing size of shadow banking"

  • Sir Partha Dasgupta, Professor Emeritus Of Economics At The University Of Cambridge on "Wealth and Well-Being"

  • Athanasios Orphanides, Former Governor Of Cyprus Central Bank on “The Politics of the Euro Area Crisis”

  • George Buckley, Chief UK Economist at Deutsche Bank on “Will central banks ever raise rates again?”

  • Raoul Pal, Hedge Fund Manager & Entrepreneur on "The need to study real world economics"

  • Jan Vincent-Rostowski, Former Finance Minister Of Poland on "Europe in Crisis"

  • Zhu Min, Deputy Managing Director Of The IMF on "A Challenging New World"

2016

2016

GROWING CONCERNS OVER EUROPE, DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH

The 15th Warwick Economics Summit was an unparalleled success, as it welcomed its fourth Nobel Prize to its already-rich collection of impressive speakers. WES 2016 sought to expand its global reach even further, welcoming delegates from 32 countries and 19 universities, including students from Stanford University, which joined WES for the first time.

The 2016 Summit hosted a number of prominent speakers, including Enrico Letta, the former Prime Minister of Italy, who praised the Summit for being ‘modern and creative’ and applauded the teamwork behind organizing the student-led conference.

Speakers included:

  • Dr. Sam Potolicchio, Director of Global and Custom Education at Georgetown and the Distinguished Professor and Department Chair of Global Leadership Studies at the Russian Presidential Academy

  • Jean-François Copé, former Minister of the Budget for the French Government and currently mayor of Meaux and a member of parliament at the French National Assembly

  • Michael Møller, Director-General United Nations office at Geneva, having 35 years of experience as an international civil servant in the United Nations

  • Dr. Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Italy and Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) at Sciences Po

  • Sir James Mirrlees, Nobel Laureate in Economics and emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge

  • Scott B. Sumner, Director of Monetary Policy at the Mercatus Center and Author of “The Money Illusion“

  • Gabriela Ramos, OECD Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20, advising the Secretary-General since 2006

2017

2017

ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL POWER ENTANGLED

In 2017 WES went truly global. All eyes and media were on us as we hosted the Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Stanley Fischer just a few weeks after the Inauguration of US President Donald Trump. We also had the pleasure to welcome our fifth Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences Prof. Finn E. Kydland and the former PM of Benin Lionel Zinsou.

 

For the first time in our history the words of the speakers instantly reached the offices of all major financial institutions as we strengthened our collaboration with Bloomberg and live streamed all talks on Bloomberg Terminals. With more than 500 delegates from all over the world, including a new delegation form UCLA, we moved all activities to the Oculus, the new flagship lecture theatre of the University.

 

Speakers included:

 

  • Prof. Finn E. Kydland, recipient of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contribution to the study of “time consistency of economic policy and the driving forces behind business cycles”

  • Ann Pettifor, Director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME), a network of world-leading economists, and well-known for her several publications predicting the 2007-8 financial crisis

  • Dr. Irene Guijt, Head of Research at Oxfam with more than 25 years of experience in rural development, natural resources management, collective action and social justice

  • Martin Wolf CBE, Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times and former member of the Independent Commission on Banking

  • Lionel Zinsou, Economist, former Prime Minister of Benin and current President of the think tank Terra Nova

  • Dr. Stanley Fischer, Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve and former Governor of the Bank of Israel

  • Dr. Peter Wuffli, former Group CEO of UBS and current Chairman of the Elea Foundation

2018

2018

CONCERNS FOR THE FUTURE: HUMAN RIGHTS, SUSTAINABILITY, AND NEW FORMS OF ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE

The hugely successful 17th edition of the Warwick Economics Summit turned heads around the world with its wide array of influential speakers. This includes Tawakkol Karman, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, journalist and activist, who played a pivotal role in the 2011 Yemeni uprises during the Arab Spring.

The Summit also saw its first address by a serving head-of-state who was in office at the time: Joseph Muscat, the Prime Minister of Malta, who joined the conference remotely via video message. Besides this, we welcomed Mario Monti, the former Prime Minister of Italy.

 

Speakers included:

 

  • Prof. John B. Taylor, the founding father of the paradigm-shifting 'Taylor Rule' used by most Central Bankers around the world, and current professor of Economics at Stanford University

  • Mervyn King, Baron King of Lothbury, the Governor of the Bank of England during the financial crisis of 2007-2008

  • Tawakkol Karman, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, journalist and activist, who played a pivotal role in the 2011 Yemeni uprises during the Arab Spring

  • Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation and the key architect of the landmark COP21 Paris Climate Agreement

  • Dame Barbara Stocking, former CEO of Oxfam and current President of the Murray Edwards College in Cambridge

  • Mario Monti, former Prime Minister of Italy and current President of Bocconi University

  • Cecilia Skinglsey, Deputy Governor of the Swedish Central Bank, the Riksbank

2019

2019

UNCERTAINTY: THE FOCUS OF THE CONVERSATION

In a time of political and economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the European Union and the rise of populism, the 18th instalment of Warwick Economics Summit flourished as a rich ground of conversation. Beyond this, delegates were exposed to discussions on a Value-based Healthcare world (Lord Andrew Lansley) to the Consequences of Forced Migration (Sascha Becker). “Populism is the kind of politics that disbelieves the standard value of democracy,” Andres Velasco, the Dean of LSE School of Public Policy and a former Minister of Finance of Chile said in his opening speech. His sentiments were echoed by Prof. Maurice Obstfeld, former Chief Economist at the IMF, who urged the EU to stray away from populism, commenting that populism is “fueled by corruption”. We were also pleased to welcome the President of Iceland, Guonni Johannesson and Sir John Holmes, Chairman of the UK Electoral Commission to our event.

 

Speakers included:

 

  • Prof. Andrés Velasco- Dean of School of Public Policy (LSE) and Former Finance Minister of Chile

  • Guðni Th. Jóhannesson- President of Iceland

  • Christos Stylianides - European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (Crisis Management)

  • Angela Kane- Former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs

  • Prof. Maurice Obstfeld- Former Chief Economist at the IMF (2015-2018) and Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley.

  • Prof. Andrea Sironi- Chairman of Borsa Italiana (Italian Stock Exchange)

  • Lord Andrew Lansley CBE- Former Secretary of State for Health

  • Prof. Linda Yueh- Adjunct Professor of Economics at London Business School, Fellow in Economics, Oxford University

  • Sir John Holmes CBE- Chair of the UK Electoral Commission

  • Benny Dembitzer- Managing Director of Grassroots Africa

  • Dr Sharon Weill- Associate Professor at Sciences Po (International Law)

  • Prof. Joaquín Almunia- Former Vice-President of the European Commission

  • Dr Rachel Glennerster- Chief Economist at the Department for International Development

2020

TURN OF THE DECADE

At the turn of a new decade, the societal, political and economic structures of the world faced challenges both age old and strikingly novel in nature. The 19th edition of the Warwick Economics Summit expanded the boundaries of debate, exploring diverse topics ranging from welfare policy to the geopolitical tensions of the Middle East.

 

WES 2020 presented speakers and discussions of global relevance, exploring the issue of a post-Brexit world on the night the UK left the EU, putting a spotlight on shifts in macroeconomic policymaking (Carlo Cottarelli - Former Executive Director of the IMF Board and Sharron Donnery - Deputy Governor, Irish Central Bank), and highlighting the future of conflict and humanitarian aid (Yves Daccord - Former Director General of the ICRC). Atifete Jahjaga and Shirin Ebadi spoke on the political and societal fabrics of Kosovo and Iran, while Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Giampaolo Di Paola addressed international relations, defence and impending changes to the global order. In the words of Zanny Minton Beddoes (Editor in Chief of the Economist), WES 2020 truly showcased “an incredible University and an incredible Summit”

Speakers included:

  • Shirin Ebadi (Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2003)

  • Zanny Minton Beddoes (Editor in Chief of The Economist)

  • Atifete Jahjaga (Former President of Kosovo 2006-2011)

  • Yves Daccord ( Former Director General of the ICRC)

  • Carlo Cotarelli (Former Executive Director of the IMF Board)

  • Sir Malcolm Rifkind (Former Foreign Secretary of the UK and Chair of the Intelligence & Security Committee)

  • Sharon Donnery (Deputy Governor of the Irish Central Bank)

  • Avinash Dixit (John J. F. Sherrerd '52 University Professor of Economics Emeritus at Princeton University)

  • Chris Nineham ( Founder of the Stop the War Coalition)

  • Giampaolo Di Paola (Former Italian Minister of Defence and Chairman of the NATO Military Committee)

  • Bina Agarwal (Professor of Economics, University of Manchester)

  • Molly Scott Cato (Former MEP)

  • Brando Benifei (Member of the European Parliament)

2020

2021

A NEW HOPE: LEADERSHIP IN THE DARKEST OF HOURS

The Summit's 20th anniversary saw WES transition to a virtual conference amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, bringing together nearly 1900 live attendees of 63 nationalities, from more than 150 universities worldwide. WES 2021 was a truly global success.

 

Naturally, the pandemic took centre stage: Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Muhammad Yunus and José Ramos-Horta alongside Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan tackled Covid’s humanitarian crisis, whilst Zsuzsanna Jakab (Deputy Director-General of the World Health Organisation) addressed the global health community’s epidemiological response to the virus. Corporate and social responsibility were likewise at the forefront of of our minds in presentations delivered by Professor Oliver Hart (Nobel Laureate in Economics) and John Ridding (CEO of the Financial Times Group), as was the ongoing technical and ideological transformation in monetary policy (discussed in our immensely successful Central Banking Panel, featuring governors Pierre Wunsch and Robert Holzmann of the Belgian and Austrian Central Banks respectively).

 

Speakers included:

  • Ursula Von Der Leyen - President of the European Commission and Germany’s former Defence Minister

  • Prof Joseph Stiglitz - Professor of Economics at Columbia University, former Chief Economist at the World Bank and recipient of the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize for Economic Sciences

  • Antoinette Monsio Sayeh - Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and former Director of the IMF’s African Department between 2008 and 2016

  • Muhammad Yunus - economist, social entrepreneur and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance

  • Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan - Queen Consort of Jordan, founder of the Queen Rania Foundation and vocal advocate in education, microfinance and cross-cultural dialogue

  • David Davis - Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom and former Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union

  • Prof Oliver Hart - Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor of Economics and co-recipient of the 2016 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to Contract Theory

  • Maria Fernanda Espinosa - President of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly and former Ecuadorian Minister of Defence 

  • José Ramos-Horta - former President of Timor-Leste and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic and peaceful approach to helping resolve the late-20th century conflict in his home nation

2021
2022

2022

AN EVER-CHANGING FUTURE

The 21st edition of the Warwick Economics Summit was our biggest, with a record-breaking turnout. We were thrilled to welcome over 6,000 registrations, with students watching from 94 countries and representing over 300 universities and 430 schools.

 

Our diverse speakers brought together a range of topics which included the Principal Economic Advisor to the Government of India, Sanjeev Sanyal, who spoke about economic policy making in uncertain times. We also heard from Beatrice Fihn, who has been fighting as the Executive Director of ICAN on the campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. We addressed the issue of climate change by hosting a conversation between Yuval Noah Harari and Vanessa Nakate, who discussed the role of countries in combating its effects. Barry Schwartz, who believes infinite choices are paralyzing and exhausting for the human psyche, explained some important things economics can learn from psychology.

WES2022 also held the inaugural Persaud Lecture Series. At WES, we strive to encourage discussion and debate among students worldwide. We are proud to host Professor Bishnodat Persaud’s Memorial Lecture Series in honour of a man whose career has helped shape economic thought and sparked fresh ideas about international development and the environment. This series began with Fançois Villeroy de Galhau, the Governor of the Bank of France.

Speakers included:

  • José Manuel Barroso - Former President of the European Commission

  • Beatrice Fihn - Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

  • Nadia Calviño - First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain

  • Irina Bokova - Former Director-General of UNESCO

  • François Villeroy de Galhau - Governor of the Bank of France

  • Lars Peter Hansen - Nobel Prize in Economics 2013

  • Richard Blundell - David Ricardo Professor of Political Economy at the Department of Economics of University College London

  • Barry Schwartz - Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action at Swarthmore College

  • Michael Spence - Nobel Prize in Economics 2001

  • Sonia Bhalotra - Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick

  • Sanjeev Sanyal - Principal Economic Advisor to the Government of India

 

Panel discussions:

  • Speakers in Conversation: Climate Change - Yuval Noah Harari, Vanessa Nakate chaired by Bill Weir

  • Afghanistan: Conflict, Security and the Way Forward - Rabia Nasimi, Ronald E. Neumann, Sima Samar chaired by Paul Wood.

  • Future of the Workplace - Mike Clancy, Lord John Hendy,Jenni Rantakari chaired by Simon Jack.

  • International Trade: Challenges to the Global Economy - Pascal Lamy, Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne chaired by Joe Lynam

 

2023

THE KING'S SPEECH

WES goes hybrid! With the 22nd edition of the summit, we are delighted to have achieved our widest ever reach, hosting 750 virtual and 550 in-person attendees from over 250+ universities across the globe. 

 

In an era governed by unprecedented economic and political turmoil, our diverse range of speakers covered topics ranging from macroeconomic policies to humanitarian crises. It was our greatest honour to have His Majesty King Letsie III grace our stage with a riveting address on the Economics of Agriculture. His speech was complemented by more world leaders, with the former Prime Minister of Jordan addressing modernization in the Middle East and the former President of Finland discussing multilateralism. Nobel Economist Edmund Phelps’ address on innovation was a crowd favourite and encouraged an elaborate Q&A session with the audience. Furthermore we were delighted to hear about macroeconomic policy from not one, but two prominent Central Bank Governors and were brought to tears by the poignant and compelling insight into the War in Ukraine by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk. Finally, a very special message from Dr. Jane Goodall about the urgency of climate change drew the curtains on another year of a successful summit that left the audience with a lasting sense of accountability and purpose. 

Speakers included:

  • His Majesty King Letsie III - King of Lesotho

  • Edmund Phelps - 2006 Nobel Prize Winner in Economics

  • Peter Diamond - 2010 Nobel Prize Winner in Economics

  • Mohamed ElBaradei - 2005 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 

  • Oleksandra Matviichuk - 2022 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

  • Chile Eboe-Osuji - Former President of the International Criminal Court

  • Henrietta Fore - Former Executive Director of UNICEF

  • Tarja Halonen - Former President of Finland

  • Samir Al-Rifa’i - Former Prime Minister of Jordan

  • Ignazio Visco - Governor of the Bank of Italy

  • Pablo Hernández de Cos - Governor of the Bank of Spain

  • Janet Henry - Global Chief Economist at HSBC bank  

 

Panel discussions:

  • Space: Cooperation or Colonisation - Mike O’Callaghan, Jill Stuart, Christoph Beischl chaired by David Southwood

  • Politics in the Wake of Social Media - Felicia Loecherbach, Kevin Young chaired by Ritula Shah

  • Sustainable Mobility - Oliver Dudok van Heel, Jason Taylor, Jamie Hamilton, Arndt Ellinghorst chaired by Sefora Daniel

  • ESG - Ido Eisenberg, Anna McDonald, Nirav Shah

2023

2024

DEBATING TOMORROW’S CHALLENGES

In WES2024, the conference capitalised on the success of the hybrid format, introduced in 2023, and expanded its reach globally, hosting a total of 1220 registered attendees from 95 different nationalities. While the 23rd edition of the conference covered a wide range of topics, from the future of food to the role of the media in combating fake news and safeguarding democracy, one overarching theme stood out; identifying ways to tackle generational issues of our time. 

 

The conference hosted some of the world's most influential leaders such as the Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and the CEO of the Financial Times Group, John Ridding, to challenge our attendees to think of ways they can come together to secure a better future for all of us through collective actions. The Nobel laureates that attended the conference this year were Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, President of East Timor and 1996 Nobel Peace laureate, and Professor Myron Scholes, awarded with the 1997 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

 

Some of the highlights of the conference included a standing ovation for the Tibetan Sikyong, Penpa Tsering, at the end of a moving Q&A session, as well as the launch of the #AreWeReady global youth campaign promoting awareness of the WHO's Pandemic Preparedness Treaty. The Summit also hosted the first debate panel in its history, where specialists debated on the merits of de-dollarisation for the global economy. At the end of the debate, the audience had the opportunity to pick a winning side, and after a surprising turn of events, the vote closed at a 50/50 split for both sides in favour and against de-dollarisation. 

 

Another historical moment for the Summit was getting together current and former central bankers representing 5 different countries for a great panel discussion on fighting inflation in different contexts. This last event had journalists from Reuters and Bloomberg in the audience, marking a huge milestone for the presence of WES within some of the world's most important news outlets. 

 

One of the most popular events amongst delegates was the future food panel, where speakers from different backgrounds within the alternative protein industry discussed the challenges and opportunities of this branch of food science with the potential to help feed millions worldwide while slowing down climate change. Another really popular event was the captivating keynote by Professor Stephanie Kelton on the controversial topic of Modern Monetary Theory (a.k.a. MMT), followed by a busy book signing event outside the main venue.

 

Other speakers and events included:

  • Jean Claude Trichet, former President of the European Central Bank

  • Dr. Mario Centeno, Governor of the Bank of Portugal

  • Dr. Melissa Parke, Executive Director of ICAN

  • Dr. Ulrich Bez, former CEO of Aston Martin

  • Dr. Philip Marsden, Deputy Chair, Bank of England Enforcement Decision Making Committee

 

Panel discussions:

  • Navigating Monetary Policy: Perspectives from Central Banks from around the World- Anita Angelovska Bezhoska, Boris Vujčić, Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, Charles Goodhart, Harvesh Seegolam, chaired by FT Frankfurt Bureau Chief, Martin Arnold.

  • Looking Ahead: The Economic Outlook for 2024 and Beyond- Sujit Kapadia, Yael Selfin, George Buckley and Marion Laboure, chaired by Warwick Economics Assistant Professor, Fatih Kansoy. 

  • Debate Panel with motion: De-Dollarisation Would Do More Harm Than Good For The Word - Dr. Joeri Schasfoort, Dr. Luis Oganes, Professor Robert Wade, Sir Vince Cable, chaired by Dr. Yemi Kale of the African Export-Import Bank.

  • The Future of Food: The Role of Sustainable Proteins in Global Food Reform - Ed Winters, Jennifer Stojkovic, Roman Kriz

2024
bottom of page