|
THE GLOBAL CRISIS
26-27 January 2010
University of Siena - Faculty of Economics PURPOSES OF THE SEMINAR Why did the economists of the Neo-Classical mainstream seem to have failed to foresee the worldwide economic crisis that exploded in 2008? And why do they appear to have difficulty in putting forward any interpretation of it consistent with the theoretical foundations of their models? These two questions have echoed insistently ever since the outbreak of the Great Recession, not only in academic circles but also in the mass media, and appear to reflect increasingly widespread dissatisfaction with the Neo-Classical paradigm of economic theory. While this has reigned in its numerous variants almost unchallenged over economic thought for the last thirty years, it has also appeared increasingly incapable of correctly interpreting the functional mechanisms of contemporary capitalism. Some economists of the neoclassical mainstream have endeavoured to show how the introduction of asymmetries and imperfections could bring their models more into line with the actual situation and hence increase their ability to describe the ongoing phenomenon. Many believe, however, that the Great Recession now underway may constitute a historic watershed also for the evolution of economics and therefore that an authentic change of paradigm is called for rather than minor adjustments to the dominant neoclassical approach. The last few months have indeed seen an extraordinary profusion of contributions from alternative areas of economic study and in particular from those adopting a critical stance with respect to Neo-Classical theory. These studies have put forward promising reinterpretations of the primary schools of heterodox political economy, stringent critiques of the mainstream readings of the recession, new schemes of theoretical and empirical analysis of the crisis, and proposals for economic policies alternative to those hitherto adopted. This seminar presents a selected collection of the best and more recent contributions in the field of the Critique of manistream economic theory and policy, with a particular focus on the work of leading figures in the Italian schools of critical thought. |
|
Conference organized by
With the support of
And the contribution of |
Organization
Secretariat |