Over the course of Thursday 31/11 and Friday 1/12/2023, the Warwick Economics Summit (WES) announced the first two of many outstanding speakers attending WES2024, the 23rd edition of the conference. The student-led summit, arguably the largest of its kind in Europe, revealed that José Ramos-Horta, President of Timor-Leste, and Sikyong Penpa Tsering, President of the Central Tibetan Administration would be attending the conference as keynote speakers. The announcement was made public through the summit’s many social media channels, and was followed by a note on ticket sales, which opened on the week commencing 3 of December. WES2024, taking place on the weekend from 2-4 February 2024, will seek to bring together at the University of Warwick a diverse selection of high-calibre speakers who are leaders in their respective fields. The summit is honoured to host such influential leaders from Asia as President Ramos-Horta and Sikyong Tsering, and is looking forward to promoting narratives that shed light on this vast continent that accounts for 60% of the global population. It will certainly be of interest to the public to listen to how the lessons from both speakers’ struggles to promote peace in their respective nations can be used to help navigate an uncertain economic and political future worldwide. As one of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize laureates and a pillar in international diplomacy, José Ramos-Horta will bring unparalleled expertise to WES2024. With a career spanning pivotal national roles such as Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, and leadership positions in global organisations, Ramos-Horta’s insights will be undoubtedly valuable during the conference. The East Timorese President’s journey encompasses major contributions to peace, governance, and academia. As the President of the World Movement for Democracy and Chair of the Scientific Council at the TIGER think-tank, his global impact is profound. His roles in peace-building, including chairing the High-Level Independent Panel on UN Peace Operations, reflect his commitment to fostering international harmony. Similarly, Sikyong Penpa Tsering has engaged in the helm of the Tibetan freedom movement with the experiences of a lifelong dedication of active service towards enhancing Tibetan democracy, civil society participation, diplomatic relations and advocacy efforts both nationally and internationally. The keynote led by the Sikyong will revolve around the theme “Challenges of a Values-based Freedom Movement”, and attendees should expect a perceptive account of his experience as a key figure in defending the Tibetan national interest. ‘Securing Tibet’s Future’ is his political mission besides the objectives of sustaining a cohesive, vibrant Tibetan diaspora as well as strengthening an equitable, rules-based governance system of the Central Tibetan Administration. Through extensive international engagement, he aims to correct narratives and policies to restore recognition of Tibet’s historically independent status as leverage to draw meaningful participation of Chinese leadership in the Tibet-China peace negotiation Lancelot Wilson, one of the Warwick Economics Summit’s current Overall Coordinators, made a series of statements about the recent announcements. Regarding the confirmation of José Ramos-Horta, he stated: “I'm looking forward to hearing about Nobel Laureate Jose Ramos-Horta's experiences leading Timor-Leste. More precisely, I am keen to listen to what he has to say about the period of high economic growth he was responsible for in the country - and most recently - his return to politics to protect Timor-Leste's democratic institutions." When asked about his thoughts on the announcement of Sikyong Penpa Tsering as one of the keynote speakers, Mr. Wilson commented: “I am very excited to hear Sikyong Penpa Tsering speak at the Summit. Understanding more about Tibet's role in Asia's geopolitical landscape, its territory's strategic importance for nearby powers, and its history will be really interesting.” It will be exciting to see how the narratives about promoting peace and development in Asia through the lenses of Timor-Leste and Tibet develop during WES2024. In addition to these discussions, the 23rd edition of WES will cover topics such as the future of food, international trade de-dollarisation and many more. More speakers and panellists will be released in the coming months. Please note that the lineup and nature of participation by speakers may be subject to change.

On December 11 2023, the Warwick Economics Summit uploaded to its YouTube channel an exclusive interview with Associate Professor of ESSEC Business School, Jamus Lim. Professor Lim is also a prominent opposition figure as part of the Workers Party in Singapore, as well as a renowned academic in the field of Economics, assuming positions at the World Bank’s Investment Authority and the Safra Center for Ethics Research Lab at Harvard. The interview was conducted by one of the Talks Coordinators for WES 2024, Vivek Venkatram. Given Dr. Lim’s particular interest in socio-economic reform within Singapore, the first topic discussed was Professor Lim’s advocacy for the implementation of a national poverty line as part of official Government economic policy. Dr. Lim was tactful in addressing some of the primary concerns over freeloading from policies of national welfare such as the one he is advocating for. Dr. Lim brought attention to the fact that “[...] if you work with those that are relatively low income and if you have had engaging conversations with them you will find that many people have very little interest in trying to exploit the system”. The overcorrection in the sphere of welfare provision, Dr. Lim argues, is symptomatic of this skewed faith in the poorest members of society, and represents “a step in the wrong direction”. Professor Lim further stressed the view that a poverty line does not represent a division in welfare provision, but rather a “benchmark” of living standards that alert policymakers of groups in need of aid. The issue of different modes of welfare provision was also raised, on which Dr. Lim gave interesting insight into the possibility for cooperation between overarching government policy and grassroots organisations. A critical point was made regarding the “on the ground” understanding that grassroots organisations have in helping the poorest members of society, while being cautious of seeing public agencies as “omniscient distributors of all public goods”. Dr. Lim also stressed the fundamental goal of any strategy for welfare provision, that of “allowing [households] to make […] optimisation decisions [of] their own” and giving them “some agency in making some critical decisions in their life”. When asked about recent developments in discourse regarding the tax system in Singapore, Professor Lim again approached the problem carefully. His first point was to stress that the tax system in Singapore is progressive, but the goal is to determine whether “it is progressive enough”. The discussion surrounding the impacts of the GST value added tax was also an important point raised by Dr. Lim, where even though the tax is fundamentally progressive, those households “just around the median in the 50th to 60th percentiles” will still be hit. Dr. Lim evaluated the impact of this tax saying that although these middle classes “won't bear as large a burden in absolute terms as someone at the higher end of the distribution”, the burden that the middle classes feel “is a relatively larger chunk of their household budgets”. The critique of Singaporean economic policy is something Dr. Lim is very familiar with, as a member of the opposition in the Singaporean government, and this can be seen in his proposed solutions to the issue of taxation. When arguing for the implementation of a stricter form of inheritance or capital gains tax, Dr. Lim was quick to refute the age-old argument that these taxes on the wealthiest members of society will motivate them to flee the country; citing the “jurisdiction with the oldest wealth tax system” Switzerland as still one of the most aspirational citizenships. The matter was then raised by the interviewer of how trust can be restored in Singaporean officials after recent political scandals, a foundation necessary for liberal political systems to function. Dr. Lim’s experience researching internal corruption at the Harvard Safa Research Lab shone through in his response to this problem, where he highlighted the need to “expect people to be professional about what they do”. Just like we separate the personal lives of sportsmen and businessmen from their work, Dr. Lim stressed the importance of understanding that politicians also have “their own set of idiosyncrasies”. But this is not a naive claim on the ability to eradicate scandals completely from the public eye, but that we should “focus on the ability of policy makers in this case to execute on what they are professionally” and to judge their performance accordingly on this fact. With regard to the impact that Singaporeans have specifically, Dr. Lim raised the forum of representative democracy as a way to make one's voice heard, imploring “Singaporeans young and old [to] exercise that right to express themselves via the vote”. The full interview can be watched in the Warwick Economics Summit’s official YouTube channel at: Jamus Lim, Member of Parliament for Sengkang GRC | WES 2024 Perspectives 3

On the 8th of November 2023, the Warwick Economics Summit (WES) had the honour to host Dr. Andy Palmer, former COO of Nissan and former CEO of Aston Martin, for an exclusive talk at the University of Warwick. The event was the second instalment of the series “WES Presents”, held in anticipation of the 23rd edition of the summit, which will take place 2-4 February 2024. Dr. Palmer, who is an alumnus of the University of Warwick, currently serves as the CEO of PodPoint, a UK provider of electric vehicle charging stations. He is considered by many to be the “godfather of EVs” given his contributions to the creation of the Nissan Leaf in 2010, arguably the world’s first mass-produced entirely electric consumer vehicle. In his talk, the engineer and executive spoke about his trajectory from being an apprentice at Automotive Parts in Leamington Spa to reaching the board of directors of some of the world’s main automotive companies. He noted that his first work experience during his apprenticeship helped him “find his passion” and “prove himself as an engineer”. While at Nissan, Dr. Palmer had the pivotal role of leading the development of the Leaf, which he described as having been an “extremely brave move” at the time. At Aston Martin, the former CEO laid the foundation for the transition to an “electrified future”. In his words, “Electric vehicles are as inevitable as tax and death”. Nevertheless, the speaker highlighted some of the main challenges with the full transition from internal combustion engines to electric, with an emphasis on the context of the United Kingdom. In his view, the main hurdle lies in the cost of the battery, stating that “fundamentally it’s impossible to sell an electric car with 60KWhr for less than thirty thousand dollars (…) if you look at the cost construct of an electric vehicle, about 40% of the cost is in the battery ”. Another challenge, he remarked, is related to the “range anxiety” of consumers, who tend to have a preference for higher-capacity batteries, which are more expensive to produce. One solution to this second issue would be, in Dr. Palmer’s view, to “increase the charging network” and most importantly “make it democratic” and “visible to people”. Despite the above, the speaker clarified that he is not “totally committed to electric cars”, and that he believes that he advocates “for allowing competition to exist” justifying that “the survival of the fittest will give us the best solution”. Dr. Palmer mentioned some growing fuel alternatives for transportation such as green hydrogen or synthetic fuels, both of which would offer carbon-neutral alternatives for the combustion of traditional fossil fuels. Next, Dr. Andy Palmer addressed what he considers to be the “four megatrends” for the future of the automotive industry; car sharing and transportation integration, movements towards vehicle autonomy, improved vehicle connectivity, and the popularisation of EVs. Regarding the first trend mentioned, the presenter highlighted the potential for “transportation which works in harmony with other forms of transportation” citing scooters, trains, and cars working together in a system joined by electricity, where vehicles could draw power from one another. “The electric vehicle is an energy medium, not just a consumer of energy”, noted the CEO of PodPoint. About vehicle autonomy, he said that “we are on the verge” of a system in which cars will do most of the work for you, but clarified that it is still an “eyes on the road” system. Dr. Palmer said that “things will start to get interesting” when cars are able to drive entirely autonomously “within a geofenced area”, stating that “particularly in urban environments, like London, you could easily imagine the car driving for you”. Touching on the topic of the UK’s automotive industry, the presenter said that the sector will have to “reinvent itself” as the transition to EVs intensifies. The country would have to relocate its production facilities to stay closer to “where you make the battery”, since this is such an expensive component of the EV and is very costly to transport. “The first question is, where are those battery factories located? The answer is: China”, revealed Dr. Palmer. “China is making a big bold move into electric vehicles, and is going to win. The question is how big that win is going to be and to whose expense”. According to him, China has managed to “break into economies of scale”, which allowed the country to bring down its prices. The speaker also criticised the recent UK government’s delay in banning petrol vehicles to 2035, stating that the measure “delays economies of scale, so we fall even more behind” in the automotive industry. “The impact that that has is quite profound” in the UK automotive industry, noted the speaker. “If the UK is not intervening, guess what, the free market prevails and we (the automotive industry) ‘die’”. Finally, when asked by the audience about the ethics behind the sourcing of raw materials for batteries, such as cobalt, used in battery production, Dr. Palmer acknowledged instances of bad practice within the industry, but highlighted that "a little-known secret is that batteries are relatively easy to recycle", giving as an example the work done at the Warwick Manufacturing Group’s recycling plant, located at the University’s campus. The full speech recording will soon be uploaded to the Warwick Economics Summit’s YouTube channel. The Warwick Economics Summit will seek to promote similar discussions during the next edition of its flagship event, WES2024, in February 2024. The summit’s goal is to promote an exchange of diverse perspectives on a variety of issues from the future of the food industry to artificial intelligence and recent trends in global markets.

On the 28th of October 2023, the Warwick Economics Summit (WES) premiered on its YouTube channel a 36-minute exclusive interview with Sir Howard Davies, Chairman of the NatWest Group. ​Sir Howard Davies became Chairman of the NatWest Group in 2015 and has held a variety of roles in the financial system over his career, from Deputy Governor of the Bank of England to currently holding a position at Millennium Management on their Compliance Advisory Board. The interview, which is part of the WES Perspectives series, was conducted by Joseph Brennan, one of the coordinators for the Talks Team at WES2024. Topics addressed ranged from challenges in financial regulation, the consequences of Brexit on the UK’s financial markets, and the government’s stakes at NatWest. When initially asked about his opinion on how financial regulators strike a balance between regulation and competitiveness, Sir Davies said that “if you write the story of financial regulation for the last 25 years it's a story of reaction to events”, noting that the process involves “constant recalibration in the light of events” of global proportions, as well as the general political mood. As an example, he noted how the FSA turned to deregulation so as to not “get in the way of the animal spirits of the City”, particularly during its heyday around the late 1990s, and how there has since been a move towards more regulated markets after the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Regarding digital technology and decentralised finance, Sir Davies said that from the point of view of banks “the more customers switch to a digital mode with us the better, because it's cheaper”, stating that therefore “there is an impulse in the financial system to push consumers towards digital methods of dealing with us”. Nevertheless, the Chairman reminded the interviewer of the importance of thinking about financial inclusion, especially considering the elderly and demographics that are less proficient in using technology. “Regulators have to decide really how far they're prepared to intervene in order to maintain services in a non-digital form for those who cannot adjust and adapt (...) you can't write to all your customers and say: ‘Excuse me, we're not going to send you bank statements anymore’. You have to get people to opt in", said the interviewee. Turning to his views on Brexit’s impact on the UK financial markets, Sir Howard Davies said that from his perspective “the risk of Brexit is that we move from being this kind of onshore centre of Europe to the offshore centre of Europe”, noting how he thinks London is still “very strong on the offshore dimension” due to its relative competitive advantage in some sectors of banking within Europe. Joseph then asked the Chairman if he thought there is any scope for regulatory change to give the UK an advantage over other financial centres after Brexit, to which he responded that he is “not sure if there is a lot of mileage in regulatory change just to try to offset Brexit”. Sir Davies also added that regulatory change may come with the disadvantage of London “moving away from alignment with the rest of Europe”, which can be a factor of repulsion for stakeholders that do not want to operate under a separate set of rules in the UK and in the mainland. Overall, he concluded this point by saying that “the disadvantages of Brexit have turned out so far to be somewhat less than many people forecast, but the advantages of Brexit I think are very hard to see”. Following up, the interviewee was asked about why London has been losing many company listings to the American exchange, to which he noted that in his view this phenomenon was a “long-term trend” as opposed to a direct effect of Brexit. This trend, according to Sir Davies, is significantly due to “changes in solvency regulation for both pension funds and life insurance companies have caused those people to invest less in equities and more in bonds”. He also added that the lack of Big Tech companies comparable to Amazon, Google, and Microsoft in the UK explains most of the difference in returns between the exchanges of both countries. Finally, when asked about his perspective on how the winding down of the government’s ownership of NatWest would change the bank’s long-term freedom, Sir Davies answered that this process would “change things for the better”, concluding that “from all points of view, it would be good if the government sold its outstanding stake, and it is their intention to. As far as I know, the Labour Party will intend to [sell the government's outstanding stake in Natwest]. They [the government] don't hold it for some strategic purpose, it's just waiting for the moment when they think the price is a decent price to sell”. The Warwick Economics Summit will seek to promote similar discussions during the next edition of its flagship event, WES2024, in February 2024. The summit’s goal is to promote an exchange of diverse perspectives on a variety of issues from the future of the food industry to artificial intelligence and recent trends in financial markets.

With the topic of Artificial Intelligence a pressing topic the Warwick Economics Summit (WES), Europe’s largest student-run summit organised and put on a debate panel on AI and The Future of Work. The panel was recently held in association with the University’s Economics Department and other student societies such as Warwick EconSoc and Warwick Women in Economics. Chaired by Dave Coplin, the author of ‘Business Reimagined’ and lifetime contributor to the understanding of technology and its interrelationship with social life, the panel discussed topics from the erosion of meritocracy, the ethical duties of managers, and historical interpretations of technological change. When asked about what jobs in the market will be affected by AI, Professor Carl-Benedikt Frey, Fellow at Mansfield College Oxford and founder of the Future of Work Programme at Oxford Martin, assessed the limitations AI has with creative endeavours. His analysis centred on the proficiency with which AI tackles tasks with clear reward functions, such as maximising game scores or writing like Shakespeare, but complex social interactions are still generally the domain of humans. AI’s ability to perfect these clear impersonal tasks, Professor Frey posits, makes the interpersonal interactions between humans all the more valuable. His use of the analogy ‘when AI writes your love letter, the first date becomes all the more important’ exemplifies his point. Dr. Abigail Gilbert, Director of Praxis at the Institute for the Future of Work (IFFW) and public policy researcher specialised in the field of AI’s effects in the workplace contributed another dimension to the debate. Her contributions to the panel drew attention to the mental impact on workers as AI is introduced to a greater degree in the workplace. Dr. Gilbert specified that when Artificial Intelligence replaces work that employees feel is central to their identity, this may cause great demoralisation in the workplace, as opposed to the improvement and aid AI can provide with menial tasks that many workers would probably be open to. Building on this, Dr. Gilbert brought to light the moral duty that employers have to be transparent with their plans for automation, allowing employees to consolidate their skills and build new ones before the change is made to the way they carry out their work. The panel also benefited from contributions by 2nd Year Economics Students Joseph Brennan and Gunisha Aggarwal, who were able to give their unique perspectives on the issue as current students whose future will be directly impacted by the surge in AI. Gunisha provided insights into the erosion of meritocracy as a result of AI use in hiring practices, stating that ‘Success is not the experiences you have but how many keywords you can cram in a CV’. Embodying her optimistic attitude to the discussion, Gunisha was also critical of the potential that AI has to create anything new, pointing to the fact that ‘In the current state of AI, we aren’t getting any new ideas, just an adaptation of what came before’. Joseph provided a ‘realist’ view on the growing contributions of Artificial Intelligence in the workplace, being careful not to exaggerate the negative or positive influences the technology has had ‘both as a tool and a replacement’. When asked about what he would want to see from organisations in the future, Joseph’s attitude was acutely humanistic and empathetic, with an emphasis on being ‘treated like a human’ instead of a number as AI opens the door to greater productivity metrics in the workplace. As a final declarative perspective on the attitude we should all hold in the wake of the AI technical revolution, Joseph urged that learning ‘how to be a better human, not a better AI’ and developing interpersonal skills would be the best approach to take. The event as a whole attracted over 500 sign-ups and over 400 keen in-person attendees. After the main debate was over, the attention was handed over to the audience, who had a chance to ask questions about what they heard. Inquiries into furthering the education of AI to future generations, and the real impact that task restructuring has on job loss as opposed to technology further enriched the debate on the topic. The general public can expect discussions much similar to Policy Talk during WES2024, the 23rd edition of the Warwick Economics Summit. With an emphasis on motivating constructive debate between experts and students, WES2024 will explore topics such as the future of the world’s food systems as well as the potential impacts of de-dollarising the global economy. Student delegations from around the world have already confirmed their presence at the event, which seeks to be the first edition to host at least one in-person delegation from every continent, this way promoting a diverse discourse.

The world is at a crossroads. With the global population projected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, the United Nations Environmental Programme estimated that food output would have to increase by over 58% from 2021 to 2050. Factors such as higher incomes and urbanisation will escalate the already rapidly growing demand for resource-intensive foodstuffs like meat, further stressing the planet’s scarce resources. The food industry is already directly responsible for one-third of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, and expanding it could intensify hazards like the loss of biodiversity and environmental pollution. If left unaddressed, these threats will negatively affect future food production, decreasing food security worldwide, particularly in vulnerable regions like the developing world. Faced with these issues, the Warwick Economics Summit (WES), one of Europe’s largest student-run conferences, has decided to promote the debate on the future of food as one of the themes for its 23rd edition, WES2024. The summit’s next edition, set to take place in February 2024, will host a discussion panel composed of specialists in different fields related to the food industry. What makes debating the future of food so vital is the vast array of options to tackle the potential threats of increasing food output in the future. That is why WES will make sure students occupy a central role in carrying on this debate. One of the summit’s goals in this edition is to host at least one in-person student delegation from every continent, thus promoting a diverse discourse on a subject that requires so much international cooperation as the food system. The panel will give an emphasis on the recent technological advancements in the alternative protein industry. Cultivated meat, plant-based substitutes, and precision-fermented dairy may all play a key role in reducing resource usage and GHG emissions as the demand for protein increases. In addition, policy change and choice architecture designs may help consumers gradually replace high with low-resource-intensive proteins in their diets. One thing is clear, solving the future of food problems will require tremendous interdisciplinary collaboration. Talks Coordinator for WES 2024, Vivek Venkatram, has stated that “as we continue to face the impacts of climate change, communities across the planet are confronted with the perils of famine. We are witnessing widespread grain shortages attributed to the ongoing war in Ukraine, and in the context of recent regulatory approval for the sale of cultivated meats in the U.S. & Singapore, alternative protein sources are a promising answer to these increased nutrition demands”. About the purpose of the panel, Mr. Venkatram highlighted that “this panel aims to investigate how we can approach sustainably feeding a growing population in the context of these modern challenges, and whether it is suitable for our society to fully transition to alternative proteins (…) this panel is an educational opportunity, as many are unaware of this issue and it closely ties into the need for more sustainable, scalable, and accessible global food production. Is this something we can collectively achieve across the globe? If so, how do we go about it?”. In previous editions, WES has created debate by hosting specialists from industry, researchers from renowned universities, and policymakers, including 19 Nobel prize recipients and numerous heads of state. Maintaining the same line, the summit will shortly announce the panellists that will discuss, alongside students, the complex and fundamental topic of the “Future of Food”, in an internationally diverse environment at the University of Warwick.