A report generated by a commission of 24 distinguished economists focuses on three structural challenges for the global economy. The column sets out some of the conclusions. While the challenges of climate change, inequality and demographic change are significant, solutions – though sometimes expensive or unpalatable – exist.
RUTH SUNDERLAND: Despite a display of female firepower in economics around the world, the same effect has not been seen in the UK
Women are very poorly represented in university economics departments from undergraduates through to professorships, and that feeds through to a shortage at the top levels of policymaking
Among economics students from the UK, women represent 27 per cent of undergraduates, and that has gone backwards in the past two decades
The economy affects all of us, not just men, and so the study and practice of economics should reflect society in the round
Widening the pool beyond white, middle-class males might reduce the risk of groupthink that was so deadly in the financial crisis
RUTH SUNDERLAND: Gender gap hits UK economics thisismoney.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisismoney.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Health policy panel discusses alternative national health care systems
Pete Rosos/Creative Commons
On May 7, Berkeley health policy scholars discussed lessons and ideas for possible health reform using studies of other health systems around the world. (Photo by Pete Rosos under CC BY-SA 2.0.)
The conference was a collaboration between the Gilbert Center and the College of Letters and Science.
Titled “Lessons for U.S. Health Reform: Ideas from Health Care Around the World,” the webinar was introduced by Jonathon Kolstad, associate professor of the Haas School of Business, as he elaborated on the role that social factors play in the health care system. Kolstad also said in the conference that the United States’ cost of health care was growing as a share of the gross domestic product, or GDP.