Research Seminar Series in Economic Sciences, 2024 – 2025
Speaker: Christina Laskaridis, Senior Lecturer in Economics, The Open University, UK & Visiting Senior Fellow, The Grantham Institute, London School of Economics
Title: “Hierarchies of expertise and the early days of research at the World Bank”
Date & Time: Monday, March 17th, 2025, 14:00 – 15:30
Place: Grypario Megaro (Sofokleous 1) | 4th floor | Lecture Hall “Kosmas Psychopedis” (416)
Live streaming of the event: https://delos.uoa.gr/opendelos/search-live
Url: https://www.econ.uoa.gr/ereynitika_seminaria_research_seminars/
Abstract:
While there has been no shortage of recent work that has tried to understand the power of economists and prevalence of economic mode of thinking, far less has been said about the instances where economists lost epistemic battles. The paper examines the different understandings of debt repayment prospects that developed in the World Bank during its first twenty years of operation. The organisation’s internal structure reflected the power battles between different departments that left economists in the research department in the weaker position. The paper concludes that economists’ epistemic authority is intimately related to the organisation of expertise within an institution and the alignment to management’s objectives.
Organizers: Dimitris Kenourgios, Professor
George Dotsis, Assoc. Professor
Frago Kourandi, Assist. Professor
Thank you.
