Thread by @natjdyer

Here’s a thread with some of my highlights and thoughts on the rethinking economics conference at beautiful @UniofGreenwich last weekend organised the students of @rethinkeconGRE #stillrethinking

I loved Henry Leveson-Gower’s big picture rallying cry: rethinking economics is not just about changing the curriculum, he said, we are talking something huge. It challenges a very powerful narrative that entrenches gross inequality and is trashing the planet. Hear, hear!

Leveson-Gower put rethinking economics movement in the context of other liberation struggles like feminism and gay rights. The movement needs a powerful narrative and sense of identity, and to invent new institutions. Check out his Promoting Economic Pluralism group & @themintmag

It was great to hear from ‘Econocracy’ author and rethinking hero, @Jonah_Earle, that it’s a success itself that the student rethinking economics movement is still here 10 years after the crash. Now, he said, more focus is needed on strategy and communication, not just ideas.

Michael Kumhof of @bankofengland said in his personal view that economics may have changed at the margins since 2008 but not at all at the “commanding heights”: the top economics departments and journals. It remains a big career risk for economists to champion unorthodox views.

Kumhof also showed how ridiculous the orthodox, textbook theory of banks as intermediaries loaning funds is. In reality, banks create new money when they make a new loan (‘financing through money creation’). We should pay more attention to this unique *privilege* to create money

Incredibly, I did not hear anyone once mention derivatives, a $500 trillion global business which puts the casino into capitalism. Why so little attention?

(I only attended Saturday and due to parallel sessions couldn’t be in them all, so may have missed it)

I really enjoyed @anninak82 presentation on global capitalism, the impact of volatile capital flows and low-status currencies on developing countries, Hyman Minsky and the importance of ‘fundamental uncertainty’ in economics (which I'm still working out). It was the real deal.

Many, many presenters referenced Hyman Minsky but I did not hear one mention the late Susan Strange of the LSE, a prescient expert on financial market and power who also foresaw the ’08 global financial crisis.

Find out more: economicquestions.org/the-financial-… and speri.dept.shef.ac.uk/2019/02/27/sus…

It was great to meet @JamesGDyke from @GSI_Exeter and hear his engaging and frankly scary talk about the existential challenge of climate change. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the idea of ‘the Technosphere’. It's wild.

I was amazed at some of the economic forecast graphs – often with smooth or straight lines – going 50 or 100 years into the future. How do they know?! Imagine that in 1900, not knowing of the technological and political changes of the next 50 years. Be honest: it's a guess.

I had a strong feeling when some were presenting their new economic models of children showing off sparkling new model train sets. “Look at what this can do?” IMO, the models are as likely to pilot the economy as a model train is to replace the 08:15 from Earlsfield to Waterloo.

The author, Michael Roberts, had an excellent T-shirt. “Precision guess work” should be a required caveat on all economic forecasting.

My inner Susan Strange was saying that there were still too many people modelling individual countries (as if globalisation wasn’t a thing) and assuming away politics and power. All macroeconomics is global and political, or it's only part of the picture.

Some participants said that economics needs to become a real science and eliminate the dross. I have sympathy but what kind of science? The desire for economics to be more scientific (‘physics envy’) has driven it to a highly distorted view of people as particles. I would argue..

.. that there’s a limit to which the methods of physical sciences can be used to the study of humans in society. Elegant theory is not all. As Susan Strange wrote, “History, including economic history, is the essential corrective for intellectual hubris. Economics, please note.”

It was a pleasure to meet @ingridharvold and @cacrisalves not just on Twitter but in real life. I’m sure there were tons of other fantastic and interesting people I’m sorry not to have had more time to meet.

I was only able to attend on Saturday and only saw some of the sessions as they ran in parallel, so there must have been loads I missed. If you were there, please comment below to share your highlights.

Kudos to the student organisers of #stillrethinking for putting it all together. Very impressive! @UniofGreenwich is a beautiful & perfect setting for talking about the growing power of finance with the towers and cranes of Canary Wharf looming up on the other side of the Thames