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In conversation with the current recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics, Esther Duflo, this session will look at the phenomenon of inequality and the way in which economics and finance can help meet the challenge for a better, more equal, world.[vc_quotes layout=”accordion” quotes=”%5B%7B%22name%22%3A%22Esther%20Duflo%22%2C%22job_role%22%3A%22Professor%20of%20Poverty%20Alleviation%20and%20Development%20Economics%2C%20MIT%3B%20current%20winner%20Nobel%20Prize%20in%20Economics%20(United%20States)%22%2C%22content%22%3A%22Esther%20Duflo%20is%20the%20Abdul%20Latif%20Jameel%20Professor%20of%20Poverty%20Alleviation%20and%20Development%20Economics%20in%20the%20Department%20of%20Economics%20at%20the%20Massachusetts%20Institute%20of%20Technology%20and%20a%20co-founder%20and%20co-director%20of%20the%20Abdul%20Latif%20Jameel%20Poverty%20Action%20Lab%20(J-PAL).%20In%20her%20research%2C%20she%20seeks%20to%20understand%20the%20economic%20lives%20of%20the%20poor%2C%20with%20the%20aim%20to%20help%20design%20and%20evaluate%20social%20policies.%20She%20has%20worked%20on%20health%2C%20education%2C%20financial%20inclusion%2C%20environment%20and%20governance.%5CnProfessor%20Esther%20Duflo%E2%80%99s%20first%20degrees%20were%20in%20history%20and%20economics%20from%20Ecole%20Normale%20Superieure%2C%20Paris.%20She%20subsequently%20received%20a%20Ph.D.%20in%20Economics%20from%20MIT%20in%201999.%20%5CnDuflo%20has%20received%20numerous%20academic%20honours%20and%20prizes%20including%202019%20Sveriges%20Riksbank%20Prize%20in%20Economic%20Sciences%20in%20Memory%20of%20Alfred%20Nobel%20(with%20co-Laureates%20Abhijit%20Banerjee%20and%20Michael%20Kremer)%2C%20the%20Princess%20of%20Asturias%20Award%20for%20Social%20Sciences%20(2015)%2C%20the%20A.SK%20Social%20Science%20Award%20(2015)%2C%20Infosys%20Prize%20(2014)%2C%20the%20David%20N.%20Kershaw%20Award%20(2011)%2C%20a%20John%20Bates%20Clark%20Medal%20(2010)%2C%20and%20a%20MacArthur%20%E2%80%9CGenius%20Grant%E2%80%9D%20Fellowship%20(2009).%20%20With%20Abhijit%20Banerjee%2C%20she%20wrote%20Poor%20Economics%3A%20A%20Radical%20Rethinking%20of%20the%20Way%20to%20Fight%20Global%20Poverty%2C%20which%20won%20the%20Financial%20Times%20and%20Goldman%20Sachs%20Business%20Book%20of%20the%20Year%20Award%20in%202011%20and%20has%20been%20translated%20into%20more%20than%2017%20languages%2C%20and%20the%20recently%20released%20Good%20Economics%20for%20Hard%20Times.%5CnDuflo%20is%20the%20editor%20of%20the%20American%20Economic%20Review%2C%20a%20member%20of%20the%20National%20Academy%20of%20Sciences%20and%20a%20Corresponding%20Fellow%20of%20the%20British%20Academy.%5Cn%22%2C%22image%22%3A%2231867%22%2C%22linkedin%22%3A%22%22%7D%5D” title=”Speaker” el_class=””][vc_quotes layout=”accordion” quotes=”%5B%7B%22name%22%3A%22Amanda%20White%22%2C%22job_role%22%3A%22Director%20of%20institutional%20content%2C%20Conexus%20Financial%20(Australia)%22%2C%22content%22%3A%22Amanda%20White%20is%20responsible%20for%20the%20content%20across%20all%20Conexus%20Financial%E2%80%99s%20institutional%20media%20and%20events.%20In%20addition%20to%20being%20the%20editor%20of%20Top1000funds.com%2C%20she%20is%20responsible%20for%20directing%20the%20global%20bi-annual%20Fiduciary%20Investors%20Symposium%20which%20challenges%20global%20investors%20on%20investment%20best%20practice%20and%20aims%20to%20place%20the%20responsibilities%20of%20investors%20in%20wider%20societal%2C%20and%20political%20contexts.%20She%20holds%20a%20Bachelor%20of%20Economics%20and%20a%20Masters%20of%20Art%20in%20Journalism%20and%20has%20been%20an%20investment%20journalist%20for%20more%20than%2025%20years.%20She%20is%20currently%20a%20fellow%20in%20the%20Finance%20Leaders%20Fellowship%20at%20the%20Aspen%20Institute.%20The%20two-year%20program%20seeks%20to%20develop%20the%20next%20generation%20of%20responsible%2C%20community-spirited%20leaders%20in%20the%20global%20finance%20industry.%22%2C%22image%22%3A%2231870%22%2C%22linkedin%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Famanda-white-101a7515%2F%22%7D%5D” title=”Moderator” el_class=””][vc_empty_space height=”10px”]
Key takeaways
COVID-19 is not the great leveller – there are huge differences between how the virus is impacting the rich and the poor within the US for example.
Developing countries are less well equipped to weather uncertainties in these times. However, even within the US inequality has been growing for decades and is now clearly unsustainable.
We need to trust developing countries enough to help them drag themselves out of poverty.
We need to spread out global supply chains to reduce geographic concentration risk and simultaneously provide income across the world. This will require collaboration and the deprioritisation of commercial self-interest.
We need to create wealth for the poor, not just take wealth from the rich. To reduce poverty incrementally, we need to focus on the simple things that work, for example providing cash incentives for sending children to school.
Let’s not forget, we have made huge progress in alleviating poverty, but that is not full credit to the World Bank, it is credit to the people of the developing nations.
If you invest responsibly as an institutional investor, you are by default helping to alleviate poverty.
‘Impact washing’ is the new greenwashing and it’s very concerning. How do you really select the investments that truly drive social impact? We should apply the same rigour to impact assessment as investment assessment.
The Florida State Board of Administration has made some strategic moves to take advantage of opportunities in the dislocation, including in private equity, distressed debt and active listed equities.. But CIO, Ash Williams, is concerned about the underlying real economy.
The COVID-19 crisis won’t have a lasting impact on climate change, but the response will—fiscal policymakers should thus aim to make the recovery green according to the IMF.
The Milken Institute is tracking the development of treatments and vaccines for COVID-19. There are currently more than 2.5 million confirmed cases globally, 114 treatments in consideration and 79 vaccines in development.
In this memo Bill Gates shares his views of how to accelerate global innovation, which is the key to limiting the damage to society and the economy. This includes innovations in testing, treatments, vaccines, and policies to limit the spread while minimizing the damage to economies and well-being.
This lecture by professors of economics at the London Business School looks at the science, health policies, economics and macroeconomic policies related to COVID-19.
This report argues the G20 not only should but can be meaningfully useful to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It looks at the role of G20 in designing a fiscal response, strengthening access to vital medical supplies and ensuring global food security.
Investors allocate to private equity with the expectation of achieving superior returns relative to public-market investments. This approach has generally paid off in corporate private equity with return premiums that have compensated investors for the risk of illiquidity. However, the same cannot be said for real estate private equity.
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