Acorn

Issue date: 2/15/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Michelle Caffrey Renowned economist Nancy Folbre spoke during the all-day Political Economy Conference last Saturday.

Seeking to return to the roots of the discipline, the Economics department staged "The Revival of Political Economy," a day-long conference that took place on Saturday. Renowned speakers and Drew University students congregated in the Hall of Sciences to explore modern developments through the multifaceted lens of the first economists.

Assistant Professor of Economics Fadhel Kaboub, who spearheaded the event, gave much thought to the theme of the conference. "We were interested in reviving the traditional political economic approach," he said. "Economics has become very specialized. I think we've lost track of the origin of the discipline."

He discussed how the forebears of the discipline were never so single minded. "The classical scholars in political economy, such as Adam Smith and Karl Marx studied economic matters in the broader context of historical, social, political and ethical concerns," Kaboub said.

All the scheduled events addressed this idea. Jan Kregal, a senior scholar at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, gave a talk entitled "Savings Gaps, External Resources and Debt Crises in Latin America." Michael Hudson, a Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, spoke about "The U.S. and Global Bubble Economy."

Nancy Folbre, a professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, gave a talk called "You Go, Girls! Feminism and Political Economy." James K. Galbraith, also a Senior Scholar at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, concluded the conference by speaking on "The Political Economy of U.S. - China Relations."

Economics majors in attendance had the opportunity to present their own ideas during the student research poster session. "I enjoyed the student presentations," Clay Zemelman ('08) said.  "Personally, I was fascinated by the broad range of topics for student presentations."

Professor Maliha Safri, an assistant professor of Economics, not only valued the talks for exposing students to complex issues in relevant ways, but for her own benefit as well. "I think it was intellectually exciting for faculty too," she said. "It was very different."

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