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UTS Business School, in partnership with the Stanford Australia Foundation, recently held two successful webinars for alumni featuring Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, Professor A. Michael Spence, and Political Economist, Professor David Brady.
Professor Mike Spence - “The World After The Pandemic – Convergence or Divergence?”
In June, Professor Mike Spence presented an enlightening presentation on “The World After The Pandemic – Convergence or Divergence?” where he gave an overview of the extensive research he has conducted and observed in ‘the pandemic economy’ and how the co-evolution of the economy and the pandemic is turning out in a variety of countries.
Professor Spence explored the global economic trends and the latest data sources to explore and compare individual countries and regions; their various response strategies and provide some early predictions for what may be the short and long term economic and social impacts of the global pandemic.
“Basically, here's the challenge. The people, policymakers and politicians are leaders, the people we elect are the people who have to make these very difficult decisions about when and how and in what order to open up an economy. We know this is a risky exercise, but we know you can't sort of go to the extremes.” explains Professor Spence.
“You have to lock down the economy until you're absolutely sure the virus is gone. But that produces an enormous amount of economic damage and suffering on the part of people. And if you look at poorer countries in the global economy, basically you can't lock them down without putting people's livelihoods and ability to survive at risk. So the idea is you want to have a way of keeping track of how you're doing in terms of the virus and the economy simultaneously. That’s challenging.” Spence adds.
“In the global economy, the (COVID) trends were negative. We were experiencing fragmentation, increasing tensions, tensions spreading out from goods and services, to capital flows to technology, even to people flows. All the dimensions of globalization. And I think most people had come to the conclusion that, even if we don't know the destination, it's not going to be a return to where we started and lived in the post war period for the better part of 60 or 70 years.
Watch the webinar:The World After The Pandemic – Convergence or Divergence? By Professor Mike Spence |
Professor David Brady - “Unstable American Politics and the 2020 Election”
In July, Professor David Brady gave an insightful and detailed perspective of the US politics with observations for the significant US Presidential election in November 2020.
Professor Brady commenced with a brief background to the US political landscape and electoral system, providing context for the current environment and key players – including its instability – in these social, economic and health-related tumultuous times.
Professor Brady referenced key data and observations to focus on the key swing states and key community segments that both the Republican and Democratic parties will aggressively target whilst ensuring they ‘lock down their electoral base’.
“The election is going to be decided by Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Maine” cites Professor Brady.
Professor Brady stopped short of predicting a Presidential winner. Yet with (then) 100 days away from the November election and so many factors influencing voters including COVID-19; the economy; health; law and order; US international relations especially China; Biden’s choice of his Vice-President candidate; and key social changes including Black Lives Matters and the Green movements, Professor Brady suggests a tight and turbulent election.
“When we look at this (current voter prediction) gap, and we try and put it out across the states, I think it's absolutely clear to say that the election, were the election held today, Joe Biden would clearly win.” Says Professor Brady
Watch the webinar:Unstable American Politics and the 2020 Election |
Future UTS Business School – Stanford Australia Foundation Events
More UTS Business School – Stanford Australia Foundation (UTS-SAF) webinars and ‘live’ events are planned for 2020 and 2021.
To ensure you receive an invitation to the next UTS SAF event or other UTS Business School and UTS alumni events, please keep your contact details up to date.
About UTS Business School – Stanford Australia Foundation Partnership
The UTS Business School – Stanford Australia Foundation (UTS-SAF) partnership is a five-year collaboration between the UTS Business School and Stanford Australia Foundation. The partnership is committed to significantly strengthening the exchange of academic excellence and building capacity of the not-for-profit sector in Australia.