• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

CONTENTS 1 University Management in a Global Era 6 Innovation 10 Global Report 12 Project Report 14 Bridges 20 Chat in the Den University Management in a Global Era The London School of Economics and Political Science is one of the world’s leading social science universities. Hitotsubashi University has developed a strong relationship with LSE over the years through programmes like the Hitotsubashi ‒ LSE lecture series. The Director and President of LSE, Professor Craig Calhoun, travelled to Japan to be the guest speaker at our 2015 entrance ceremony. Hitotsubashi President Koichi Tadenuma seized this opportunity to talk with him about a subject close to their hearts ‒ how to manage a university in a global era. Craig Calhoun Director, London School of Economics and Political Science alancing invisible and provide knowledge to society while engaging in all three of these dimensions. visible hands is important Tadenuma: So knowledge as a public good needs to be Tadenuma: I would like to thank you for the excellent useful to society, needs to be shared widely, and needs to lecture you gave at our entrance ceremony. I was particu- be open. In my view, there are several classes or catego- larly fascinated by your concept of “knowledge as a public ries of knowledge ranging from knowledge as a public good.” Could you please explain again what this concept good to knowledge as a private good. In addition to the means? dimension of public good, there is also Calhoun: Thank you very much. I dis- the dimension of using knowledge for tinguish the following three aspects of private benefi ts. knowledge as a public good. I think knowledge in the social sci- First, knowledge should be useful ences can fall into several diff erent cat- to society. People pursue knowledge egories. For instance, knowledge about because they have a pure desire to auctions may be useful for the private learn or for a variety of other rea- interest of auctioneers, but the main sons, but I think it is vital that we pur- purpose of the theory of auctions is to sue new knowledge in order to help improve the effi ciency of the market. society. Social science institutions like LSE The second aspect is that knowl- and Hitotsubashi focus on several dif- edge needs to be shared with others. ferent categories or classes of knowl- Unlike scarce goods, knowledge is not edge. For example, business schools lost when it is shared. There is no seem to mainly teach knowledge as a need to control and restrict it. The private good. What do you think of this public benefi ts most when knowledge feature? is shared widely. Calhoun: I think you are exactly right And third, knowledge itself needs to that knowledge comes in many diff er- be public. Making knowledge widely ent forms and is used for a variety of available will make it possible to receive criticisms from interests. There is nothing wrong with knowledge being others or for new aspects to be added, and continue a pro- used for private benefi t. What would worry me is if knowl- cess of evolving knowledge. edge was only used for private benefi t. All three of these aspects are vital to evolve knowledge. And to take your example of business, it seems to me Hitotsubashi and LSE have a responsibility to continue to that enlightened business serves not only the public ben- Craig Calhoun Koichi Tadenuma Professor Calhoun took up his post as Director of the London Professor Tadenuma graduated with a B.A. in economics in 1982 from School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 2012. Hitotsubashi University. He earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University He studied social anthropology at the University of Manchester and of Rochester in 1989 and was appointed lecturer in the Faculty of received his doctorate in sociology and modern social and Economics at Hitotsubashi University in 1990. After assuming the positions economic history from the University of Oxford. In the United of assistant professor in the Faculty of Economics in 1992, professor in the States, he was President of the Social Science Research Council Graduate School of Economics in 2000, and dean of the latter from 2011 to and taught at the University of North Carolina, Columbia 2013, he was appointed President of Hitotsubashi University in December University and New York University. His many publications 2014. Professor Tadenuma specializes in the theory of social choice, combine academic theory from a wide range of disciplines with welfare economics, game theory, and public economics. His recent empirically-grounded research. publications include Shiawase no tame no keizaigaku: k_ritsu to kouhei no kangaekata (Economics for people’s happiness: The criteria of effi ciency and equity. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 2011). Koichi Tadenuma President, Hitotsubashi University efi t but also private benefi t in many diff erent ways. The ll practical problems are owners of capital may make a profi t on their investment. interdisciplinary Workers may get a job. The consumers may seek goods that they use as private goods. But while business is moti- Tadenuma: Let me turn now to the policy of LSE, a world- vated by these various private interests, it also works best leading university in the social sciences. You have insights when there is a social recognition or responsibility that on various fi elds in the social science disciplines. I gather the business should not be causing damage. that your organization and human resources are also For example, products sometimes turn out to be hazard- diverse. I am interested in how you manage this diverse ous. Businesses must strive to make high-quality products world and ensure interdisciplinary studies. that are safe. It is also important to fi nd risks and let con- Calhoun: It’s very challenging for me as well. It is not sumers know. For example, if an automobile company easy. I would love to say that we handle this with com- fi nds a problem with a car it produced, it will recall the plete unity and harmony, but that’s not the case. The best car in order to fi x the problem and return it to consumers. answer is open debate. For This is an example in which there is a connection between example, if the economists knowledge for private benefi t and knowledge for the pub- and the political scientists lic. We universities need to not only provide knowledge; disagree, it is important that we need to also teach about the responsibility to use they have a discussion until knowledge in a way that also benefi ts the public. they are both thoroughly Tadenuma: That reminds me of the invisible hand of convinced. Not recognizing Adam Smith. the diff erences and isolat- Calhoun: Adam Smith is one of the thinkers I respect. I ing themselves ‒ this must think today’s society is infl uenced by both visible and be avoided at all costs. By discussing with each other, they invisible hands. In the modern world we have mechanisms will begin to see the diff erences in views, the process that where the invisible hand is maintaining the market econ- led to that opinion, and way of thinking. It is important to omy. We also have legal mechanisms for fi ling lawsuits acknowledge the diff erences. against defect products, and there are mechanisms in Interdisciplinary research activities do not mean that which the government regulates the market. Universities we depart from our disciplines and create something new. must present, in an intellectual manner, ways for manag- I urge professors to think of it as drawing links with other ing these diff erent mechanisms in a well-balanced manner. disciplines. It means highly cohesive research that encap- If we have too much regulation we destroy some of the sulates the wisdom of multiple disciplines. For starters, benefi ts of markets, but if we have no rules and frame- social science disciplines did not develop independently. works, the markets will collapse. They were created by infl uencing each other. For exam- 1 University Management in a Global Era ple, sociology split off from economics at the beginning of answer on which method is correct. And there is no scien- the 20th century. And economics itself did not emerge tifi c solution. In short, I believe directors are not in a posi- from scratch. tion to solve all problems relating to interdisciplinary It was born out of philosophical insight and political research. It is the professors and the students who solve thought. The ideas of Adam Smith that were referred to these problems. Our role is to act as facilitators of these earlier were also infl uenced by law and by other fi elds. research activities. In the case of promoting interdisciplin- Tadenuma: That is true. ary research, the important thing is making sure that two- Calhoun: This is not limited to the social sciences. An way conversations are taking place, that the potential is example is genome research. For a long time computer there for learning, and that resources are shared. For science was outside the scope of interest of biology. But example, behavioral research labs do experiments that are once the human genome was decoded by computers, biol- used by psychologists, economists, and management, and ogy began to attach importance to computer science. therefore properly creating these facilities is important. The fact is that in order to solve today’s practical Behavioral economics is a good example. Intellectual problems, we need the knowhow of comprehensive and progress in economics depends on interdisciplinary con- applied social sciences, because the problems of the world nections, so at joint seminars and debates we need to do not come organized into disciplines.

Load more

  6

Copy Link