Past Speakers
Raghuram Rajan
University of Chicago ● 2025 ● “Growth in a fragmenting world”
Raghuram G. Rajan is the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He has held prominent policy roles, including Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund, Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, and Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Rajan is the author of several influential books, including Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists, Fault Lines, The Third Pillar, and Breaking the Mould. He has received international recognition for his contributions to economics, finance, and public policy.
The lecture in the media: NRC
Picture: Flickr Stephen Jaffe | Source: Stephen Jaffe
Copyright: @imf.org
Mariana Mazzucato
UCL ● 2024 ● “The Common Good: From Correcting Market Failures to Shaping the Economy to Meet Bold Objectives”
Mariana Mazzucato is a Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London and Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose. She has authored several books, including The Entrepreneurial State, The Value of Everything, and Mission Economy.
Mazzucato holds advisory roles with organisations such as the World Health Organisation, the European Union, and the United Nations. She has also received multiple international awards and recognitions for her contributions to economic policy and innovation.
Read the journal article here.
Guido Imbens
Stanford ● 2022 ● Dutch 2021 Nobel Prize in Economics
Guido Imbens is a Professor of Economics at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He specialises in econometrics and the methods for establishing causal relationships using observational data. In 2021, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to the analysis of causality. Imbens has previously held academic positions at Harvard, UCLA, and UC Berkeley. His research has had a significant impact on both theoretical and applied econometrics within economics and the social sciences.
Olivier Blanchard
Peterson Institute ● 2021 ● Former Chief Economist of the IMF
Olivier Blanchard is Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. His research focuses on macroeconomics, including monetary and fiscal policy, economic fluctuations, and labour markets. He has authored numerous influential publications that have shaped modern economic thinking and policy. Blanchard has held advisory roles at the International Monetary Fund and the Paris School of Economics. His contributions continue to influence academic research and global economic policy discussions.
Esther Duflo
MIT ● 2019 ● “Good Economics for Hard Times”
Esther Duflo is a Professor of Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Co-Founder of the global research centre J-PAL. Her research focuses on development economics, focusing on the evaluation of social policies aimed at reducing poverty. Duflo has co-authored influential books such as Poor Economics and Good Economics for Hard Times. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Duflo continues to contribute to academic research and policy discussions on poverty alleviation and development.
The lecture in the media: Utrecht University
Anat Admati
Stanford ● 2018 ● “Financial Crises and the Politics of Banking”
Anat Admati is a Professor of Finance and Economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business and a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. Her research focuses on the intersection of business, law, and policy. She emphasises governance and accountability mechanisms in both the private sector and government. She has co-authored the award-winning book The Bankers’ New Clothes: What’s Wrong with Banking and What to Do about It. Admati has received multiple accolades for her work, including being named in Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World 2014.
The lecture in the media: Volkskrant & Sustainable Finance Lab