Latest News
Last updated: 26 January 2012
Economics Newsletter
Economics News, a newsletter for the academic and admin staff of the Department of Economics, was launched on 26 January 2012.
It will be distributed as a hardcopy to faculty and admin staff at the start of week 3 in each term,
and made available to students in hardcopy via the Departmental Office, S600. You can download an e-copy here .
Professor Tim Besley announced as LSE School Professor
Professor Tim Besley (pictured) and Professor David Soskice have
been announced as the first LSE School Professors.
Professor Tim Besley, who started his role on 1 January, is School Professor of Economics and Political Science, and
Professor David Soskice, who will join LSE in September from the University of Oxford, will be School Professor linked
to Department of Government.
The School Professors Scheme provides the capacity to attract or retain scholars of outstanding international distinction
in their field. Candidates are scholars of world stature in the relevant subject, have a substantial body of publications,
have demonstrated a high level of originality in scholarship, and have shown an ability to forge significant links with other
disciplines. They have direct responsibility to the Director for initiating and developing interdisciplinary research, teaching
and other appropriate academic activities in order to strengthen the intellectual life of the School community as a whole.
For more information on the Scheme, click <"http://www2.lse.ac.uk/intranet/staff/humanResources/pdf/schoolProfessorsScheme2011.pdf">here.
Professor Danny Quah has also been appointed as Kuwait Professor of Economics and
Political Science, and will be leading the Kuwait Programme at LSE.
New Director of STICERD
Professor Oriana Bandiera of the Department of Economics takes up
her new position as Director of STICERD this term.
Oriana, who works in applied microeconomics, especially (but not exclusively) in development and organization economics,
joined the Economics Department as a Lecturer in 1999, and has been here ever since. During that time, she has held visiting
positions at the universities of Chicago, New York, Yale and Stockholm. Apart from being a Co-Director of the Economic
Organization and Public Policy programme at STICERD, she is Co-Director of the State Capabilities Research Programme at the
International Growth Centre. She is also a fellow of several research networks and serves on the board of editors of the
Journal of Economic Literature, the Journal of Development Economics, Economica and the Economic Journal.
As Director of STICERD, one of her main responsibilities will be to allocate funds to promote research in economics and
related disciplines across the school. STICERD funds finance numerous research activities, such as conferences, academic
visits, special lectures, research grants and students' grants; she will report to the STICERD steering committee, whose
members represent the different STICERD constituencies.
When asked about the issues she feels will be important to STICERD and the Department of Economics over the next few years,
she highlighted the need to attract and retain the very best staff. "(We) are at the top of economics research in Europe and
among the best worldwide. To stay at the top it is key to keep all research fields staffed both at the senior and junior level,
and to provide the best conditions for our researchers to develop their ideas into projects."
"It is a great honour to be asked to head this amazing research community, and to follow on the footsteps of the previous
directors who have created an incredibly vibrant research environment here in STICERD", she added.
Oriana replaces Professor Tim Besley, who served as Director of STICERD from 2000-2011. Professor Besley added:
"I am delighted that Professor Bandiera is taking on this task. STICERD is an important resource for LSE and one of its oldest
research centres; it is good to know that it will be in such capable hands".
STICERD's previous directors were Professor Michio Morishima, Professor Sir Tony Atkinson, Professor Lord Nicholas Stern
and Professor Howard Glennerster.
For more information please go to the
News and Events page.
Big questions for young minds - LSE launches new economics lecture for young people online
A new online lecture which tackles big questions about the economy for a younger audience has been launched by LSE.
In 'The LSE Big Questions lecture: East beats West? Is the East taking over the world?',
Professor Danny Quah addresses the issue of the rising economic power of China and other Asian countries and asks whether we should be fearful of this.
Using audience-participation games, demonstrations, films and interviews, Danny explains
what the economy is, why it matters, how global trade is changing the world and how we will need to adapt to this.
For more information please go to the
News and Events page.
Mark Blaug
Mark Blaug who taught in the department in the 1960s died on November 18th.
He was probably best known for his book on the history of economic thought ‘Economic Theory in Retrospect’ and
he had a fine sense of the history of our subject that is probably missing from most of us today.
There will be a memorial gathering of Mark's friends and colleagues at the Reading Room at the British Academy at 6pm on January 19th.
Economic Research Council - Clash of the Titans: Economic Predictions for 2012
Date: Tuesday 6 December
Venue: Royal Institution
Time: 6.30pm
Chair: former Chancellor of the Exchequer and President of the ERC Lord Lamont
Speakers: Professors John Muelbauer (Oxford), M Hashem Pesaran (Cambridge) and Danny Quah (LSE)
The Economic Research Council presents the first annual: Clash of Titans: Economic Predictions for 2012 (Oxford vs. Cambridge vs. LSE),
chaired by former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Lamont.
Professors John Muelbauer (Oxford), M Hashem Pesaran (Cambridge) and Danny Quah (LSE) will be representing the top three economics departments
in the country, giving their thoughts on past and present aspects of the UK and the global economy, and making their predictions for what
to expect in 2012.
For more information please go to the
Economic Research Council page.
Economics Public Lecture: Lionel Robbins Book Launch
On: Wednesday 30 November at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Main Building
Speaker: Professor Susan Howson
To celebrate the launch of her outstanding biography of Lionel Robbins, the Department of Economics is delighted to present
a public lecture by Professor Susan Howson of the University of Toronto. This lecture will examine Lionel Robbins' public activities and demonstrate why he was such
an important figure in the intellectual and cultural life in Britain in the 20th century.
For more information please go to
LSE Public Events page
or click here to download the leaflet for the lecture.
Book Launch: Pillars of Prosperity: the political economics of development clusters
On: Monday 7 November at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Professor Timothy Besley, Kuwait Professor of Economics and Political Science,
director of STICERD and director of
the Institute of Public Affairs at LSE,
Professor Torsten Persson, Torsten and Ragnar Söderberg Chair in Economic Sciences at IIES,
Stockholm University, and a centennial professor at LSE
Respondents: Professor Francesco Caselli, professor of economics in the Department of Economics at LSE,
and Professor Robert Wade, professor of political economy and development in the Department of International Development at LSE
For more information please go to LSE Public Events page.
LSE Economics 4th in the world
LSE's Economics Department has been ranked 4th worldwide and top-ranked outside the US.
According to the 2011 QS World University Rankings by Subjects, the Department is the only non-American university among the first four
(after Harvard, MIT, and Stanford) and precedes Oxford and Cambridge.
For more information please go to
QS World University Rankings by Subject 2011 - Social Sciences: Economics.
The LSE Big Questions Lecture: East beats West? Is the East taking over the world? with Prof. Danny Quah
Date: Thursday 30 June 2011
Time: 1-2.15pm
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Professor Danny Quah
Professor Danny Quah will present the LSE Big Questions Lecture on "East beats West? Is the East taking over the world?".
A highly interactive lecture for schools, the lecture will explore how the world is changing,
with countries such as China and India becoming wealthier
and more powerful than ever before.
Further details on this lecture can
be found at
East beats West? Is the East taking over the world?
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