Symposia
2015
Description This series examines the tools, technologies and systems that drive and shape the forces of money and finance in the twenty-first century economy. Rationale The rise of the Internet and digital computing has irreversibly altered the course of modern finance capitalism. Yet, the underlying dynamic of technological innovation driving economic change is nothing new. Monetary and financial systems have historically…
Oct 18, 2014
This conference will consider Franklin D. Roosevelt’s proposal for an Economic Bill of Rights, guaranteeing included employment at living wages, housing, medical care, education and old age security. In 1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed an Economic Bill of Rights whose guarantees included employment at living wages, housing, medical care, education and old age security. This conference will consider FDR’s proposal in light…
2014
A three-day, student-driven conference on economic pluralism, organized in partnership with Rethinking Economics, and hosted by New York University Law School, the New School for Social Research, and Columbia Law School.
May 1, 2014
This seminar explores the macroeconomic and social dynamics behind the current student debt regime, and potential ways to address them through financial and budgetary reform. Questions to be address include: Who relies most on student debt? Why is student debt different from other kinds of debt? What are the economic implications of financing higher education through a debt-based system? What alternative models exist for…
Dec 4, 2013
This event explores the historical and contemporary evolution and function of complementary and social currencies, and their political and economic implications. Questions to be addressed include: What are complementary and social currencies? How do complementary and social currencies differ in design and function? What are the strengths and weaknesses of complementary and social currencies vis-a-vis state currencies and financial markets? How have complementary and…
Nov 25, 2013
This seminar will explore the relationship between macroeconomic policy and the systemic perpetuation of involuntary unemployment, with a particular emphasis on the discriminatory effect of involuntary unemployment on age, race and gender minorities. In Voyage of the Beagle, Charles Darwin said “[i]f the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our…
Nov 25, 2013
Rania Antonopoulos, Senior Scholar at the Levy Economics Institute, describes her proposal for an “Employer of Last Resort” program in Greece. Part of the MMx seminar “The Disparate Impact of Unemployment: Macroeconomic Policy as a Tool for Race, Gender, and Age Discrimination” hosted by the Modern Money Network.
Oct 17, 2013
This seminar will explore the political, economic, and legal innovations leading up to, during, and following the Lincoln Administration and the Civil War. In addition, it will examine the relationship between ante- and post-bellum monetary and financial system innovation and the larger currents of constitutional and social transformation of the period. Questions to be addressed include: What impact did Abraham Lincoln’s presidency…
Oct 8, 2013
This seminar will explore the current state of legal orthodoxy surrounding the social technology known as “money,” and the impact of prevailing beliefs about its functioning on legal education and the law school experience more generally. Questions to be addressed include: How do lawyers think about what money is, and how it functions? What is the current state of legal scholarship around…
Oct 3, 2013
This event will explore common misconceptions regarding the nature of the national debt and its function in the broader context of contemporary U.S. macroeconomic policy. Questions to be addressed include: What is the national debt comprised of? Why is the national debt different from a personal debt? How accurate are the assumptions behind popular fears over the sustainability of the national debt? How can an accurate…
Oct 1, 2013
This seminar will explore the operational dynamics and policy mechanisms of contemporary monetary policy. Questions to be addressed include: What tools do central banks employ to achieve monetary policy objectives, and in particular, interest rate target? What are the theoretical implications of recent technological and policy innovations in monetary policy? How has monetary policy influenced, and been influenced by, other macroeconomic operations such…
Sep 30, 2013
This seminar will examine the relationship between money markets, and contract and payments law. It will offer an historical and contemporary overview of different forms of financial instruments and the legal principles that have guided their evolution, as well as the evolution of their markets. Questions to be addressed include: What is the function and design of money markets? How are financial…