ECONOMICS & FINANCE
Debate Chamber Economics Events 2010:
Would you like to hold an Economics or Finance event in your school?
Debate Chamber also conducts in-school workshops, which can be closely tailored to the needs and abilities of your students. If you are a teacher and interested in this opportunity please click here.
Feedback from previous Economics Events:
“Very interesting and informative. It gave further insight into economics than is available from the A level course.”
“Wonderful. Really felt that I learnt a lot and explored areas of economics that I wasn’t previously aware of.”
“I enjoyed the interactivity of the course; the variety of the topics covered and the profusion of handouts we were given.”
“Really good! Informative discussions and good teaching. Got everyone involved and looked at lots of different areas.”
“Excellent exploration of different sides of the economic policy debates.The tutors had an outstanding level of knowledge and were able to make explanations tangible with constant references to current affairs.”
“Fantastic! Very fun tutor explained things incredibly well with many analogies and examples to liven up the atmosphere.”
“Extremely useful to me. The tutors were engaging and clear.”
“I enjoyed the whole course – looking deeply at how preferences work helped me see somewhat more realist approaches to events, which contrasted to the very conceptual AS level.”
“The course allowed us to look at areas not covered by the school syllabus and increased my understanding of economics greatly.”
“I thought it brilliantly applied economics to real life!”
“Excellent exploration of different sides of the economic policy debates.The tutors had an outstanding level of knowledge and were able to make explanations tangible with constant references to current affairs.”
ECONOMICS TUTORS
Max Kasriel graduated from the University of Oxford in 2009, after completing a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He is now reading for a Masters in Philosophy at Kings College London. Max’s academic interests are in ethics and political philosophy, and microeconomics. In particular, he is interested in social justice and equality, an draws his ideas from a range of academic disciplines. Other interests include debating, in which Max was a Grand Finalist at the European Championships, and jazz music, as both a listener and performer.
Ian Tay graduated Magna Cum Laude from Marquette University, in Wisconsin, USA and has lectured in a private college in economics for 2 years in Malaysia. He is currently pursuing his 3rd masters degree in Global (Economic) History in the London School of Economics after completing two other masters in Political Science in the National University of Malaysia and in Global History in the University of Vienna. His interest lies mainly in East and Southeast Asian Political and Economic History and also in the ongoing economic and political affairs of the countries in this region.
Joanne Lim is now pursuing a Master of Laws at the London School of Economics. Her love for economics blossomed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at Yale University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Master of Arts respectively in the subject. After working for several years in both the public and private sectors, she is a firm believer that systems must be structured to produce the right behavioural incentives. Her specialisations are international trade, taxation, foreign investment policies and the economics of intellectual property.
Andrew Foster is currently reading for a DPhil in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford. His research interests lie within structural dynamics. Andrew has a background in both economics and civil engineering. His studies in economics were completed at the University of Bath, where he attained first-class honours. During this period, he also worked for a year as a research assistant at the Bank of England. Andrew then pursued a two year masters degree in civil engineering at University College London, which he completed with an award of distinction.
Recommended reading on economics and finance
We asked our tutors to recommend some engaging reading material for young economists. Their suggestions are listed below. As you can see, the books are all written by leading economists and their subjects range from public policy to financial markets to the crisis of 2008. We hope these books interest you and begin to give you a greater understanding of economics and the world.
More Sex is Safer Sex
- Steven Landsburg
An excellent introductory book using economic analysis to answer questions about politics, law and social interaction. Will deepen understanding of a number of basic concepts, and secures this understanding with fun and intriguing case studies.
The Return of Depression Economics
- Paul Krugman
Krugman has been at the forefront of economic policy for US Administrations, and as such his book is an excellent non-technical policy introduction to the crisis of 2008. His ideas all interlink to core economic theory concerning growth, inflation and unemployment.
Personal Utilities and Public Judgements
- Amartya Sen
This is a seminal article in welfare economics that explores the limitations of notions of welfare to economic analysis. If we are to think the role of economists is to maximise welfare, then we must understand the limitations of such an approach in seeking to build the ideal society.
The New Financial Order: risk in the 21st Century
- Robert Shiller
Robert Shiller is probably one of the most well-regarded financial economists currently teaching today. In this work he talks about how the expansion of risk markets to shielding against everyday contingencies (e.g. the aspiring violinist insuring herself against not getting accepted into Juliard) would represent a logical and healthy outgrowth of hedging practices. This book is very readable, accessible, and even if you don’t agree with everything it might say, certainly fun!