The Econocracy Book Launch ft. Andy Haldane, Chief Economist Bank of England

The Econocracy Book Launch

Join us for the eagerly anticipated launch of our new book The Econocracy: the perils of leaving economics to the experts at the Old Theatre at the London School of Economics just five minutes walk from Holborn and Temple tube stations and 10 minutes walk from Charing Cross.

We will begin by introducing the Econocracy and then handover to the RSA's Citizens' Economic Council and Economy, two really exciting projects that are actively addressing many of the problems we highlight in the book. Then Andy Haldane, Chief Economist at the Bank of England, and author of the foreword for The Econocracy will offer his reflections on the book and the challenge of democratising economics more broadly.

Afterwards we will be going to the LSE Students' Union just across the road for a drink and it would be wonderful to see you there!

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF VENUE (OLD THEATRE LSE) AND THE SLIGHTLY LATER START (18.30 NOT 18.00)

Programme

• Setting the scene: Joe Earle (Author) and Geoff Tily (TUC): 18.30-18.45

• The Econocracy: Zach Ward-Perkins (author): 18.45-19.05

• Democratising Economics: Reema Patel (RSA) and Joe Richards (Economy): 19.05-19.25

• Reflections: Andrew Haldane (Bank of England): 19.25-19.40

• Q and A: 19.40-20.10

• Join us at the LSE Students' Union for a drink afterwards: 20.10-21.30

Blurb

One hundred years ago the idea of 'the economy' didn't exist. Now, improving the economy has come to be seen as perhaps the most important task facing modern societies. Politics and policymaking are conducted in the language of economics and economic logic shapes how political issues are thought about and addressed. The result is that the majority of citizens, who cannot speak this language, are locked out of politics while political decisions are increasingly devolved to experts. The econocracy explains how economics came to be seen this way - and the damaging consequences. It opens up the discipline and demonstrates its inner workings to the wider public so that the task of reclaiming democracy can begin.

Selected endorsements

Utterly compelling and sobering.

Ha-Joon Chang, Reader in Political Economy of Development at the University of Cambridge and Author of Economics: The User's Guide

If war is too important to be left to the generals, so is the economy too important to be left to narrowly trained economists…This book demonstrates just why that matters and offers thought-provoking ideas on how to go about it.

Martin Wolf, Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times

A rousing wake-up call to the economics profession to re-think its mission in society, from a collective of dissident graduate students.

Lord Robert Skidelsky, Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at Warwick University and a Fellow of the British Academy in History and Economics

Many economists will not agree with all of the book’s analysis but they certainly should not ignore it.

Diane Coyle, Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester and former Vice Chair of the BBC Trust

Every economist and citizen should get a copy.

Vince Cable, former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

Beautifully written and packed with wisdom...this may be the most important economics book of the decade.

Mark Buchanan, physicist, former editor of Nature and New Scientist and author of Forecast: What Physics, Meteorology, and the Natural Sciences Can Teach Us About Economics

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank all the speakers for agreeing to speak, MUP and CRESC for providing financial support to allow the launch to happen. We also wish to thank all of the funders of Rethinking Economics including Friends Provident Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Reform Trust, Network for Social Change and Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation for their generous support of our work.