2019

from the Institute of Economic Affairs July 6 2019 · Royal Geographical Society · 1 Kensington Gore

WELCOME

Welcome to THINK, the fifth iteration of theIEA ’s flagship student conference. Over the next few hours we hope that we will be able to equip you with the tools needed to seriously and robustly consider the economic and political challenges that face both Britain and the wider world. The goal of the conference is to help each of you ‘think the unthinkable’ and consider radical solutions to issues ranging from the role (and regulation) of modern technology, to issues risking the basic underpinnings of our capitalist system.

We are living through a period of profound change in Britain. We are still, after three years of delay, waiting to discover what the next phase of our relationship with our continental neighbours will look like. Meanwhile, the recent European Parliamentary elections perhaps indicate the rumblings of the biggest political realignment in a century. These two issues are combined with technology changing our economy in a way not seen since the Industrial Revolution. These are serious issues, and I hope that today’s conference will leave you both intellectually stimulated and better informed on them all.

But more than anything we hope that you come out of this conference with a deeper understanding of free market economics. Free trade and classically liberal policies have been at the foundation of the incredible improvement in living standards over the past two centuries, and our continued prosperity depends on young people like you making the case for free market economics in the future.

Please do stay involved with the IEA, especially through our student events programme. To find out more, visit our student section of the website at iea.org.uk/events-and-conferences.

Best wishes, Mark Littlewood Director General, IEA ABOUT THINK brings together some of the best speakers in the world to highlight how creativity and innovation fostered under free markets have helped halve world poverty in recent decades. This year, THINK has assembled prominent thinkers – including the incredible Thomas Hazlett and Deirdre McCloskey – from around the globe. They’ll shed light on key contemporary issues such as ideas and innovation, the smart phone revolution, political realignment, free speech, school choice, millennial economics – and much more. This fifth annualTHINK conference will introduce you to thought-provoking ideas that will equip you to examine how best to approach some of the major social and economic issues present in the world today. And, along the way, you’ll hear exciting and surprising views on the way the world may change in your lifetime! ABOUT US ABOUT THE IEA The Institute of Economic Affairs is the UK’s original free market think tank, and it’s been at the forefront of the battle of ideas for over 60 years. We believe free markets play a major role in solving economic and social problems – and we spread that message through our books, papers, films, events and more. As an educational charity, we have strong connections with the UK’s leading universities and schools. From helping university economics societies to flourish, to our sixth form conference programme, we travel the length and breadth of the UK spreading the importance of economics. In our travels, it became clear there wasn’t an event where the best and brightest students could come together to look at ways to solve the world’s economic problems. This was the spark that led to the creation of THINK – and we very much hope you enjoy it in its fifth year. MEET

MEET THE ORGANISER

Ralph Buckle is the Acting Director of Education, Outreach, and Programmes as well as Acting Chief Executive of EPICENTER. Ralph previously worked at the IEA as the Events and Public Affairs Manager. His other experience includes working as the Head of Events at Policy Exchange, and as a Communications and Projects Consultant for Dods Parliamentary Services. He has also worked in Parliament, for political groups, and for public affairs agencies as well as being Director and Co-Founder of Commonwealth Exchange (CX). Ralph has a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) from the University of York. Ralph Buckle Acting Director of Education, Outreach & Programmes 020 7799 8923 [email protected] @RalphBuckle Knightsbridge

High Street Kensington

South Kensington GETTING AROUND1

TUBE South Kensington (Circle, District and Piccadilly Lines) – a 10 minute walk up Exhibition Road (beyond the Science Museum and Imperial College) to the Society. Knightsbridge (Piccadilly Line) – a 10 minute walk along Kensington Road to the Society. Lancaster Gate (Central Line) – a 15 to 20 minute walk across Hyde Park to the Society. BUS There are several bus routes which stop outside or within the vicinity of the Society building. 9: Hammersmith/Aldwych 10: Hammersmith/King’s Cross 52: Willesden/Victoria 360: Kensington/Elephant and Castle 452: Wandsworth/Willesden RAIL The nearest mainline railway stations are London Victoria (you can then take the 52 bus to the Society) and London Paddington (a 25 minute walk to the Society). BICYCLE Bicycles can be locked against the bike stands, located at the main entrance on Exhibition Road. Space is limited. Bicycles are left at their owner’s risk. Please make sure bicycles are secured as thieves are known to work in the area. CAR There are no car parking facilities at the Society. The Society is no longer located within central London’s Congestion Charge area. There is limited public parking in Hyde Park, although car parking restrictions operate in the area, often until late at night.

GETTING AROUND2 9.45 – 10.15 REGISTRATION 10.15 – 10.30 Welcome and Introduction – Mark Littlewood 10.30 – 11.00 How Ideas can Change the World – Prof Dierdre McCloskey Deirdre McCloskey has made important contributions to a wide range of disciplines during her academic career of over forty years so far. She is known for several of these including her critique of the ‘mathematisation’ of contemporary economics. Her most recent, and best known work, is her trilogy on innovation and the ‘great enrichment’ of the modern world – The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce (2006), Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can’t Explain the Modern World (2010), Bourgeois Equality: How Ideas, Not Capital or Institutions, Enriched the World (2016). In this she argues that the central feature of the modern world that explains its great wealth compared to all previous human history is sustained innovation and that this reflects an intellectual and cultural change that happened some three SESSIONS hundred years ago. 11.00 – 11.30 Realignment of Politics – Dr Stephen Davies Today it may seem that politics in many countries is in chaos or that we are seeing a kind of generalised revolt of radical populism. Suddenly old alliances are under strain and unexpected new ones are arising. How can we make sense of all this? Dr Stephen Davies has been arguing for several years that there is an explanation for all of this that helps us to understand what is going on and what is likely to happen in the future – we are in the middle of a political realignment which will reshuffle political structures, parties, voting blocs and redefine left and right. This realignment will be completed in just a few years and we will move into a new kind of politics, organised around different issues. SESSIONS

11.30 – 11.50 BREAK 11.50 – 12.20 Free Speech on Campus – Dr Joanna Williams, Prof Eric Kaufmann Issues of free speech and the right to free expression are nowadays at the forefront of news and public debate. This is particularly true on university campuses with demonstrations against invited speakers and arguments about whether or not there should be a platform for people who hold or articulate certain beliefs. Is this right? Do universities have the right to do this and if they do, should they? Are there or should there be limits to what can be said in an academic environment? Is free thought in academia under threat and, if so, where does that threat come from and what should be done about it? Do we, for example, need an academic journal where research can be published anonymously? Alternatively is this just a moral panic, an exaggeration of a minor problem into a major one? Our panel has people who are actively involved in this debate and the questions it raises. 12.20 – 12.50 Private Philanthropy in Modern Capitalism – Prof Helen Berry, Dr Syed Kamall, Dr Frank Prochaska Private philanthropy is one of our most important and influential social institutions and yet understudied given that importance. Historically philanthropy and charity has been a major movement and social force and it is still a large and active part of economic and social life in the UK. What does the history of philanthropy look like and what can that tell us about its possible future? Are there dangers in philanthropy and if so how should we guard against them? What relationship, if any, should there be between private charity, philanthropy and the state? Our panel has a mixture of both leading historians of charity and people currently involved in it. 12.50 – 13.30 LUNCH – Exhibition Fair and Book Signings 13.30 – 14.10 School Choice and the Education Revolution – Prof Pauline Dixon, Corey DeAngelis, Toby Young, Dr Steve Humble MBE Education is currently undergoing a revolution around the world, one that few people in the UK are aware of or have heard of. All over the world the principle of school choice and competition between schools is gaining ground, usually in the face of fierce resistance. Even more radical developments are appearing in the shape of critiques of the entire conventional curriculum or of the very idea of compulsory full time education. What is the purpose of education and the school and how far is it being met (if at all) by state education systems? Why do so many education systems deliver poor outcomes for students and their parents? Why are state systems in many countries looking to reform themselves while private education grows and flourishes, particularly in poor countries? The panel has speakers actively involved in the study of these processes and questions as well as advocacy and practical involvement.

SESSIONS 14.10 – 14.50 Socialism, Capitalism and Millennials – Dr Kristian Niemietz, Rebecca Lowe, Dr Rainer Zitelmann, Joseph Sternberg In 1989 many thought that the idea of socialism had collapsed along with the Berlin Wall. Now however it seems to be undergoing a dramatic, Lazarus like, revival with polls in many countries showing high levels of support for socialism, most particularly among the young (the Millennial generation). Where does this come from and why is it happening? Do people who describe themselves as socialists today have a clear idea of what the term actually means? What is its commonly understood meaning today – does it actually refer to Scandinavian style social democracy rather than classic socialism? Given the historical and contemporary failures of self-described socialist economies and regimes why does the idea have such a continuing appeal? 14.50 – 15.10 BREAK SESSIONS

15.10 – 15.30 The Future of Work, Money and Tax – Dominic Frisby We are living through a period of immense economic change. The nature of work is changing too. As a result, the way we are taxed will have to change. That, in turn, will change the nature of government. Dominic Frisby explains all. 15.30 – 16.10 The Political Spectrum: The Tumultuous Liberation of Wireless Technology, from Herbert Hoover to the Smart Phone – Keynote with Professor Thomas Hazlett

The Wireless Revolution has transformed our lives. It is a marvel of modern science but it is also so much more. The technologies that today amaze billions require access to radio spectrum, the “invisible resource,” and for nearly a century that permission was routinely denied. It was thought that only through tight controls, administered carefully by regulators, could chaos be avoided. That belief killed the visions of entrepreneurs and long stymied social progress. Only with key, if quiet, reforms, has liberalisation unleashed the future. Using ideas developed by economists, who pondered how spectrum property rights could be assigned to competing wireless rivals, have markets opened. The spectacular innovation ecosystem in your pocket is the result 16.10 – 16.30 Closing Keynote with Dr Stephen Davies

16.30 – 17.15 DRINKS RECEPTION Helen Berry is Professor of British History at Newcastle University, UK. She studied history at the University of Durham and Jesus College, Cambridge, and has published extensively on the social history of Georgian Britain. Her new book, Orphans of Empire, tells the story of what happened to the thousands of children who were raised at the London Foundling Hospital, from its earliest days to the mid-Victorian era, when it spurred Charles Dickens to campaign on behalf of orphans. Through the lives of London’s foundlings, the book gives a street-level insight into the wider global history of a period of monumental change in British history as the nation became a superpower.

Stephen Davies is the Head of Education at the IEA. Previously he was program officer at the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) at George Mason University in Virginia. He joined IHS from the UK where he was Senior Lecturer in the Department of History and Economic History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has also been a Visiting Scholar at the Social Philosophy and Policy Center at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. An historian, he graduated from St Andrews University in Scotland in 1976 and gained his PhD from the same institution in 1984. He has authored several books, including Empiricism and

SPEAKERS A-Z History and was co-editor with Nigel Ashford of The Dictionary of Conservative and Libertarian Thought. SPEAKERS A-Z

Corey A. DeAngelis is the Director of School Choice at Reason Foundation and an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute. His research primarily focuses on the effects of school choice programs on non-academic outcomes such as criminal activity, character skills, mental health, political participation, and schooling supply. He has authored or co-authored over 40 journal articles, book chapters, and reports on education policy. His research has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals such as Social Science Quarterly, School Effectiveness and School Improvement, Educational Review, Educational Research and Evaluation, Peabody Journal of Education, Journal of School Choice, and the Cato Journal. His work has also been featured in USA Today, New York Post, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Foundation for Economic Education, EdChoice, and Education Next. He received his Ph.D. in Education Policy from the University of Arkansas. He additionally holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Pauline Dixon is a Professor of International Development and the Co-Director of the Global Challenges Academy. She is Newcastle University’s lead for the Global Challenges Summit. She has extensive experience working in Asia and Africa. Her major research interests are the theory of Austrian Economics, spontaneous order in economics, school choice, children’s literacy, giftedness and creativity. She also is involved in research that considers interdisciplinary issues around informal settlements including health, gender, water, sanitation and nutrition. Dominic Frisby is a financial writer and a stand-up comedian. He is the author of two books, Bitcoin: the Future of Money? and Life After The State. Dominic writes also for MoneyWeek, Virgin and Breitbart and has written and produced numerous short films and videos, including the viral hit ‘Debt Bomb’. As for his comedy, Dominic has been described as ‘viciously funny and inventive’ by the Guardian; ‘masterful’ by the Evening Standard; and ‘great comedy talent’ by Chortle.co.uk. He is currently preparing for his Edinburgh Festival shows which include “Libertarian Love Songs” and “Adam Smith: Father of the Fringe.”

Thomas Hazlett was born in Los Angeles, attended UCLA, and became an economist and writer. His work focuses on the evolution and regulation of the communications sector. He has held faculty positions at U.C. Davis, George Mason, and the Wharton School, and currently holds the H.H. Macaulay Endowed Chair in Economics at Clemson University. He has previously served as Chief Economist of the US Federal Communications Commission, and has written for many academic journals and law reviews, as well as popular publications such as the Financial

SPEAKERS A-Z Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the New Republic, Reason, Slate, Time and Business Week. His most recent book is The Political Spectrum: The Tumultuous Liberation of Wireless Technology, from Herbert Hoover to the Smart Phone (Yale University Press). SPEAKERS A-Z

Steve Humble is a Senior Lecturer in International Development at Newcastle University. He carries out research in sub-Saharan Africa and India concerning parental choice and schooling. He has expertise in collecting and analysing data from large samples using advanced statistical techniques. He is a fellow of The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA). Steve was awarded an MBE for Services to Education in the Queen’s 2016 New Year’s Honours List. He is currently writing a book on statistical techniques that can be used to explore structures and relationships within survey data, to be published early 2020.

Syed Kamall was born and brought up in London. He has been an academic, a strategy consultant and from May 2005 to June 2019 was a Conservative MEP for London. In the , he was leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group and worked to promote open trade, tech start-ups and better financial regulation, following the last financial crisis. In London, he regularly meets and works with local community projects tackling poverty and social exclusion. He is currently setting up a microfinance project to offer loans to entrepreneurs from poorer communities. Eric Kaufmann is Professor of Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of a wide range of books including his latest title: Whiteshift: populism, immigration and the future of White majorities. Professor Kaufmann is also an editor of the journal Nations & Nationalism, has written for Newsweek International, Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines, and blogs at Huffington Post.

Mark Littlewood is Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs and the IEA’s Ralph Harris Fellow. Mark has overseen significant growth in the IEA’s size, influence and media profile during his tenure, since 2009. Mark also sits on the Board of Big Brother Watch, a non-profit organisation fighting for the protection of privacy and civil liberties in the UK. Mark is recognised as a powerful, engaging and articulate spokesman for free markets. He is a much sought-after speaker at a range of events including university debates, industry conferences and public policy events. He also features as a regular guest on flagship political programmes such as BBC Question Time, SPEAKERS A-Z Newsnight, Sky News and the Today Programme. He writes a regular column for The Times and features in many other print and broadcast media. SPEAKERS A-Z

Rebecca Lowe is Director of FREER, which is based at the Institute of Economic Affairs, where she is also a Research Fellow. She has worked for various political research organisations, as a parliamentary researcher, a political consultant, and in the arts, education, and charity sectors. Until late 2017, she was State and Society Fellow and Convenor of the Research Group on Political Thought at Policy Exchange, where she researched and published on topics including UK and international politics, income and wealth distribution, work and welfare policy, equality and need, higher education, and issues of constitution and governance.

Deirdre N. McCloskey has been UIC Distinguished Professor of Economics, History, English, and Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago since 2000. Trained at Harvard as an economist, she has written sixteen books and edited seven more, and has published some three hundred and sixty articles on economic theory, economic history, philosophy, rhetoric, feminism, ethics, and law. She taught for twelve years in Economics at the University of Chicago, and describes herself now as a “postmodern free-market quantitative Episcopalian feminist Aristotelian.” Her latest books are The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Capitalism, Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can’t Explain the Modern World, and Bourgeois Equality: How Ideas, Not Capital or Institutions, Enriched the World. Before The Bourgeois Virtues her best-known books were The Rhetoric of Economics and Crossing: A Memoir, which was a New York Times Notable Book. Kristian Niemietz is the IEA’s Head of Political Economy. He studied Economics at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin and the Universidad de Salamanca, graduating in 2007 as Diplom-Volkswirt (=MSc in Economics). During his studies, he interned at the Central Bank of Bolivia (2004), the National Statistics Office of Paraguay (2005), and at the IEA (2006). In 2013, he completed a PhD in Political Economy at King’s College London. Kristian previously worked as a Research Fellow at the Berlin-based Institute for Free Enterprise (IUF), and at King’s College London, where he taught Economics throughout his postgraduate studies. He is a regular contributor to various journals in the UK, Germany and Switzerland.

Frank Prochaska is an historian of modern Britain and the author of a number of critically acclaimed books. He was born in America but has lived much of his life in Britain and has dual nationality. He has taught at universities on both sides of the Atlantic and in recent years taught British history at Yale. He moved to Oxford in 2010, where he became a member of Somerville and Wolfson Colleges. He has been a Research Fellow at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London University, and a Visiting Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford. He lectures and reviews widely and contributes to media programs and the press in Britain on such subjects as contemporary social policy and the monarchy. He SPEAKERS A-Z is currently a Senior Research Fellow of Somerville College, an Honorary Fellow, Institute of Historical Research, London University, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. SPEAKERS A-Z

Consuming Academic Freedom and Women vs Feminism Women (New York: PublicAffairs, 2019), examining PublicAffairs, (New York: is a member of the editorial board of The Wall Wall of The board editorial of the member is a is Head of Education and Culture at Policy and Culture is Head of Education . Her most recent book is . Her most recent The Theft of a Decade: How the Baby Boomers StoleDecade: How the Baby Boomers The Theft of a Higher Education Why Learning Can’t Be Bought Higher Education Why Learning Can’t in an Age of Conformity (Emerald, 2017). Joanna Williams Spiked. and the associate editor of commentator an author, Exchange. She is schools and Further teaching English in secondary Joanna began her career Education and Academic in Higher as a lecturer Education. She started working for Centre of Kent’s in 2007. She was Director Practice at the University of Kent until 2016. Joanna is the author of the Study of Higher Education the Millennials’ Economic Future the Millennials’ The College of He holds a B.A. from Recession. of the Great the consequences in Williamsburg, Virginia,William and Mary lives in London. and politics. He joined the Journalpolitics. Kong, writer in Hong 2006 as an editorial in column. He wasthe Business Asia and editing China and Japan covering editor of The managing Sun and York writer at The New an editorial previously D.C. Washington, both in Public Interest, of He is the author Joseph SternbergJoseph of areas His column. Economics Political the he writes Journal, where Street and European trade policies, monetary and macroeconomics, focus include Toby Young is the co-author of What Every Parent Needs to Know and the co-founder of several free schools. In addition to being an associate editor of The Spectator, he is an associate editor of Quillette. Toby also contributed to the new IEA publication School Choice Around the World.

Rainer Zitelmann is an historian and sociologist. He is also a world- renowned author, businessman and investor. Dr. Zitelmann has written a total of 21 books including his most recent publication: The Power of Capitalism. In it, Dr. Zitelmann examines evidence from across the world that capitalism has been the solution to a number of massive problems. He compares developments in West and East Germany, North and South Korea, capitalist Chile v. Socialist Venezuela, and analyses the extraordinary economic rise of China. For many people, ’capitalism‘ is a dirty word. This book argues that capitalism is a force for good in enabling growth and prosperity, and in alleviating poverty. SPEAKERS A-Z THANK YOU

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