Oxford Martin School: Public Lectures And Seminars

The Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell MP, will join us to discuss how to address these challenges as well as seize new opportunities. The UK launched an international development White Paper in November 2023, setting out seven areas for action across a broad range of development themes and policy areas. The White Paper recognises the increasingly contested world we face, with a more complicated and fractured geopolitical environment. As the UK moves into implementing this vision, it will need to navigate this. The Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell MP, will join us to discuss how to address these challenges as well as seize new opportunities. The panel will consider how to mobilise additional resources for genuine impact when fiscal and political conditions in the UK and traditional donor partners are unfavourable; how to work with new and emerging donors and balance the imperative for more funds against the UK’s commitment to its values; how to manoeuvre in the context

Hannah Ritchie discusses her new book 'Not the end of the world' with Prof Charles Godfray. We are bombarded by doomsday headlines that tell us the soil won't be able to support crops, fish will vanish from our oceans, that we should reconsider having children. But in this talk, data scientist Hannah Ritchie, author of Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet will discuss with Professor Sir Charles Godfray, Director of the Oxford Martin School, that if we zoom out, a very different picture emerges. They will discuss how the data shows we've made so much progress on these problems, and so fast, that we could be on track to achieve true sustainability for the first time in history and we can build a better future for everyone.

Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, explores the implications of growing paralysis, polarisation and uncertainty for a world in a race against time to achieve systemic and transformational change. Conflicts, climate change, rising inequalities…. the list of crises is long and growing. But it doesn’t really matter what we call this unprecedented moment in history, in which human activity has become the dominant force shaping the planet. Whether this is the “Anthropocene” – the Age of Humans – or the “Era of Poly-crises”, what matters is that it is real, changing our lives at extraordinary speed and challenging our post-war institutional architecture. At a time of unprecedented interdependence, are we losing our capacity for collective problem-solving and effective global governance? With the UN and Bretton Woods Institutions in the crosshairs of both governments and citizens for chronic failures in preventing conflict, climate change or the current financial/debt crisis, what hope is there for multilateralism

Adama Dieng, former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, July 2012 to July 2020, discusses the UN's role in the global collective responsibility to prevent genocide and other mass atrocities. Adama considers how the UN can learn from the past and take effective action to prevent mass violence set against a background of increasing commission of atrocity crimes globally, a rise in hate speech, identity-based discrimination and intolerance. He will also explore the UN's continued crucial role in de-escalating conflicts and the challenges that are preventing humanity from achieving its goal of a world without genocide and other atrocity crimes.

After a summer of extreme heatwaves, devastating wildfires and deadly flooding across the world, all made worse by climate change, the Rt Hon Sir Alok Sharma, President of COP26 in Glasgow 2021, will discuss the ongoing climate crisis. In the run up to COP28, Sir Alok will describe his hopes for the summit and his views on the future of the COP process, as well as the role of the UK in international climate policy. He will explore the importance of business in tackling climate change, and the challenges of financing the scale of climate action required. And climate action requires a facilitating political environment: how strong is the climate agenda and how much support does it have amongst citizens and in the private sector. Speaker: Rt Hon Sir Alok Sharma, President of COP26 in Glasgow 2021 In conversation with: Professor Sir Charles Godfray, Director of the Oxford Martin School,

Yves Daccord, former CEO of the International Committee of the Red Cross, joins us at the Oxford Martin School. The history of humanitarianism is one of vulnerabilities, power, mobilisation and adaptation. This has been true since humanitarian aid became an industry in its own right and continues to be so today. The reaffirmed sovereignty of states, the zero risk practices of the major donors, and the rapidly changing needs and expectations of people and communities affected by wars and disasters are all challenges to the relevance of international humanitarian action. From Kiev to Damascus, from Bamako to New York, the adaptation of the humanitarian organisations will have to be radical. Join Yves Daccord, Executive Chairman of the Edgelands Institute & Former CEO of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as he asks 'is that still possible?'.

A discussion on leaders and populism with Lord Patten, Gideon Rachman, Margaret MacMillan and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira Since the beginning of the millennium, when Vladimir Putin took power in Russia, authoritarian leaders have come to dominate global politics. Self-styled strongmen have risen to power in Moscow, Beijing, Delhi, Brasilia, Budapest, Ankara, Riyadh and Washington. These leaders are nationalists and social conservatives, with little tolerance for minorities, dissent or the interests of foreigners. At home, they encourage a cult of personality and claim to stand up for ordinary people against globalist elites; abroad, they posture as the embodiments of their nations. And they are not just operating in authoritarian political systems but have begun to emerge in the heartlands of liberal democracy. This panel’s distinguished speakers will address the following questions: How and why did this new style of strongman leadership arrive? How likely is it to lead to global war or economic collapse? Mo

Nick Westcott, Director of the Royal African Society, discusses the African State. African states have been in flux since long before colonial powers carved up the continent into bite-sized chunks at the end of the 19th century. In the 60 years since most became independent, new trends have emerged. Some have reflected history, both colonial and pre-colonial, from ethnic rivalries and migrating populations to authoritarian structures, extractive institutions and irrational borders. Others reflect new dynamics both local and global - economic imbalances, demographic dynamism, changing climate and a changing balance of global power. But in particular there is a shift in the ideological basis of the state: how do people view it, what do they expect and what do governments think they should do? This is a joint event with the Oxford Martin Programme on African Governance

In this event chaired by Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Oliver Bullough discusses his best selling and critically acclaimed book, 'Butler to the World: How Britain Became the Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Kleptocrats and Criminals'. In Butler to the World, Bullough reveals how the UK has become a hospitable location for oligarchs and kleptocrats from all over the world - a place where they can hide their monies, build respectable reputations on the back of philanthropy and party donations, and influence those in power. From professional facilitators to politicians, Bullough’s book asks searing questions about today's political and economic life in the United Kingdom.

MPs Andrew Mitchell and Margaret Hodge discuss illicit finance and their work on improving regulations. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and resulting sanctions regime has shed light on the United Kingdom’s harbouring of illicit wealth from around the world. It has also revealed the centrality of enablers in the legal and financial sectors in laundering oligarchs’ monies and reputations. As co-chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Responsible Tax, Andrew Mitchell and Margaret Hodge have been at the forefront of the UK’s fight against dirty money, illicit finance and money laundering. In this event, Andrew Mitchell and Margaret Hodge will discuss with Ricardo Soares de Oliveira and John Heathershaw past attempts at curbing professional facilitators, the inadequacy of present regulations and the prospect of improvement through the upcoming Economic Crime Bill, among other ongoing efforts. Most pressingly, they will be asking: after a decade of signalling reform intent, is change really about to happen?

Claire Craig and Sarah Dillon discuss their new book. There is an urgent need to take stories seriously in order to improve public reasoning. The challenges of using scientific evidence, of distinguishing news from fake news, and of acting well in anticipation of highly uncertain futures, are more visible now than ever before. Across all these areas of public reasoning, stories create profound new knowledge and so deserve to be taken seriously. The two authors, Claire Craig, Provost of The Queen’s College, and Sarah Dillon, Professor of Literature and the Public Humanities at the University of Cambridge, talk to Charles Godfray, Director of the Oxford Martin School, about their theory and practice of listening to narratives where decisions are strongly influenced by contentious knowledge and powerful imaginings in areas such as climate change, artificial intelligence, the economy, and nuclear weapons and power.

The event launched a book by the Emerging Markets Forum (EMF), a Washington DC based not-for-profit think tank focused on emerging economies. The book takes a long-term perspective of emerging market economies through 2060. It highlights some of the fundamental and structural changes in the global economy accelerated by the pandemic as well as changes in geopolitics. It looks at the global megatrends, and the key issues such as climate change, rising inequality and inequities, fragility of international monetary system as well as rapid technological changes and their impact on the way we work that will heavily impact the future direction of most economies and societies. Finally, the volume highlights the fact that while many of the issues highlighted require joint actions at the global level, the current multilateral system is no longer geared to tackle them. It needs a major revamp as does the global economic governance. Harinder Kohli, Founding Director of EMF and primary editor of the book, Montek Singh A

Dr Leroy Hood, CEO of Phenome Health, discusses his strategy for precision population health If one takes a systems approach to healthcare, it is obvious that it should be predictive, preventive, personalised and participatory (P4). This can be accomplished, in part, by a vision which includes following the health trajectory of each individual with a data-driven (genome/longitudinal phenome) approach to, after proper analyses, optimise wellness and avoid disease. This is the essence of what precision population health should be. To achieve this object, Dr Leroy Hood, CEO of Phenome Health, has proposed a “2nd human genome project”, termed Beyond the Human Genome, to analyse the genomes and longitudinal phenomes of one million individuals over 10 years with federal support. He has founded a non-profit company, Phenome Health, to develop the strategies and accumulate effective partners to carry out this initiative, which he will discuss in this talk. The first three Ps have to do with science and they lead to

Stefan Dercon talks about his new book, with further discussion from David Pilling (Financial Times) and Melinda Bohannon (FCDO) In the last thirty years, the developing world has undergone tremendous changes. Overall, poverty has fallen, people live longer and healthier lives, and economies have been transformed. And yet many countries have simply missed the boat. Oxford’s Stefan Dercon’s new book, “Gambling on Development: Why some countries win and others lose”, asks why it is that some of the previously poorest countries have prospered, while others have failed. Stefan argues that the answer lies not in a specific set of policies, but rather in a key ‘development bargain’, whereby a country’s elites shift from protecting their own positions to gambling on a growth-based future. Despite the imperfections of such bargains, China is among the most striking recent success stories, along with Indonesia and more unlikely places, such as Bangladesh, Ghana and, tentatively, Ethiopia. Gambling on Development is

Dr Tara Garnett (director of TABLE and fellow of the Oxford Martin School) in conversation with Dr Helena Wright, Dr Pablo Manzano and Dan Blaustein-Rejto, discuss livestock systems and greenhouse gas emissions. The food system generates around a third of human-made greenhouse gas emissions, with about half of these attributable to animal production; and yet food was markedly absent from official discussions at COP26. This, for many analysts, represented not only a major climate-relevant omission but also a missed opportunity for reshaping the food system in ways that could achieve broader set of social, environmental and economic benefits. That said, some of the major commitments agreed at the 2021 COP – notably around deforestation and methane – will, if implemented, require action from the livestock sector, and many activists are hoping that COP27 will see a far greater focus on livestock-related concerns than has been the case so far. But what exactly is the livestock problem that needs to be addressed? F

Sir Dieter Helm discusses how we could shift to a sustainable economy. What would have to happen for this generation to live within its environmental means and to bequeath to the next generation a set of assets at least as good as it inherited? What would the sustainable economy look like? How do we stop climate change and biodiversity loss? Consumption would have to be on a sustainable growth path, having first ensured the proper capital maintenance of the infrastructures and the natural capitals. Polluters would have to pay, with prices reflecting the full costs of the pollution causes to make the stuff for us the ultimate polluters. Economic growth, driven by technological progress and ideas would continue, once the economy was put back to the sustainable level of consumption. This would be very different from what happens now. The focus would not be on Keynesian boosts to aggregate demand, borrowing for current consumption, and quantitative easing. Living within our - and hence the environment's means

Alison Wolf, Ian Stuart and Sir Chris Husbands join Sir Paul Collier to discuss vocational skills and the economy. This country has been worrying about vocational skills since the late 19th century. Since then we have had one government initiative after another, yet employers' complaints about skill shortages have steadily increased. At the same time, the country has continued to grow economically: so sceptics might wonder if there is really a crisis at all. This conversation brings three expert academic and practitioner perspectives on this vital issue. Alison Wolf (Baroness Wolf of Dulwich) is Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management at King's College London and a nationally recognized academic authority on skills and education. Sir Chris Husbands, is Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, where he has pioneered vocational training, now recognized nationally in its top-rated reputation with students. Ian Stuart is the Chief Executive of HSBC, which has just pioneered bank relocation

This discussion brings together the editors of a special issue of the Oxford Review of Economic Policy on Capitalism. Rising levels of inequality, social exclusion, environmental degradation and political divisiveness are a of source growing disillusionment with our capitalist system. The OxREP issue includes articles by leading economists from around the world on the problems with the existing system and the changes that need to be made to address them. At the heart of the arguments presented is the notion of cohesive communities and societies, and their role alongside globalisation, privatisation and financialisation in restoring trust in capitalism.

Join Professor Kingsley Moghalu, Oxford Martin Visiting Fellow on the Oxford Martin Programme on African Governance and former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, as he discusses the challenges and opportunities of Nigeria's political economy Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and the continent’s largest economy, is populated by dynamic and talented citizens, but has faced steep challenges in development, leadership and governance. Poverty is widespread. The country is currently embattled by terrorism, general insecurity, a depressed economy, and by challenges from separatist agitations to the existential legitimacy of the Nigerian state. How can Nigeria achieve transformation economically and politically? Taking a political economy approach into the Nigerian conundrum, this public lecture by Professor Kingsley Moghalu, Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Oxford Martin School, examines how the West African country’s foundation as a British colony, and contemporary challenges of nat

Join Ron Emerson, Chairman of Bank North, & Professor Colin Mayer, Lead Researcher on the Oxford Martin Initiative on Regional Levelling-up, as they discuss the above and in what ways does Bank North’s business model address these needs? The UK has the most extreme regional inequalities in the OECD and one of the most centralised governance and financial systems all controlled from London. How can the finance and banking world help level the playing field and shift all focus and control away from London? When it comes to finance and banking - why are they so important to levelling up? What has gone wrong with local access to finance? And what is needed to resolve this problem?