Annual Lecture in Economics 2025 – A Physical Event
Tuesday 27 May 2025
18:00-19:45
Venue: University of Cyprus Campus, University House Anastasios G. Leventis, Room B108
Facing the New Realities: Economic Policies for the Left Behind
Speaker: Sir Paul Collier, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford and co-director of the International Growth Centre.
Chair: Ioannis Tirkides – Economic Research Manager at Bank of Cyprus and President the Cyprus Economic Society.
Abstract: In this lecture, Professor Collier will draw on his recent book, Left Behind, to describe the extraordinary widening divergence between successful societies and those mired in violence and poverty. Over the past decade, many places have fallen behind, including neglected regions of rich countries and entire countries of the poor. Since Trump’s election in the United States, the world faces new challenges. In many countries, including the speaker’s own, the UK, governments and ruling elites are having to confront uncomfortable realities they have long preferred to ignore. Policies on defense, infrastructure, immigration, and income distribution are all being rethought. While these changes have suddenly become urgent, many should have been implemented years ago. The pace of the journey from denial to acceptance depends on whether influential individuals use their power to change the mindset of society. As always, the crucial choice for the well-connected elite is between a better future for themselves at the expense of the weak, or a better future for all. The speaker’s working life has been spent dealing with elites who choose the former, but only the latter offers sustainable success.
