Some face-to-face events are returning. Check carefully for any requirements.

Mar
20
Fri
India: A Land full of Music and Dance @ Pitt Rivers Museum
Mar 20 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
India: A Land full of Music and Dance @ Pitt Rivers Museum

India is a land full of music and dance. It is woven into the very fabric of the subcontinent, with music and dance unique to each region and community, ranging from folk and classical arts to popular forms. While there are a number of dance and dance-theatre styles that can be classed as classical, there are eight that have been officially recognised as classical Indian dance styles by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Ministry of Culture. Shyam Patel will be talking about these different forms and how, like the languages, cuisines and cultures of different Indian regions, these dance styles are unique and varied in their own right.

Apr
28
Tue
2020 Uehiro Lectures (2/3) How to Pool Risks Across Generations: The Case for Collective Pensions @ University of Oxford Examination Schools (North School)
Apr 28 @ 3:00 pm – 4:45 pm

Lecture 2: The case for collective defined contribution (CDC)
On any sensible approach to the valuation of a DB scheme, ineliminable risk will remain that returns on a portfolio weighted towards return-seeking equities and property will fall significantly short of fully funding the DB pension promise. On the actuarial approach, this risk is deemed sufficiently low that it is reasonable and prudent to take in the case of an open scheme that will be cashflow positive for many decades. But if they deem the risk so low, shouldn’t scheme members who advocate such an approach be willing to put their money where their mouth is, by agreeing to bear at least some of this downside risk through a reduction in their pensions if returns are not good enough to achieve full funding? Some such conditionality would simply involve a return to the practices of DB pension schemes during their heyday three and more decades ago. The subsequent hardening of the pension promise has hastened the demise of DB. The target pensions of collective defined contribution (CDC) might provide a means of preserving the benefits of collective pensions, in a manner that is more cost effective for all than any form of defined benefit promise. In one form of CDC, the risks are collectively pooled across generations. In another form, they are collectively pooled only among the members of each age cohorts.

Apr
30
Thu
2020 Uehiro Lectures (3/3) How to Pool Risks Across Generations: The Case for Collective Pensions @ University of Oxford Examination Schools (North School)
Apr 30 @ 3:00 pm – 4:45 pm

Lecture 3: The case for an unfunded pay as you go (PAYG) pension

The previous two lectures grappled with various challenges that funded collective pension schemes face. In the final lecture, I ask whether an unfunded ‘pay as you go’ (PAYG) approach might provide a solution. With PAYG, money is directly transferred from those who are currently working to pay the pensions of those who are currently retired. Rather than drawing from a pension fund consisting of a portfolio of financial assets, these pensions are paid out of the Treasury’s coffers. The pension one is entitled to in retirement is often, however, a function of, even though not funded by, the pensions contributions one has made during one’s working life. I explore the extent to which a PAYG pension can be justified as a form of indirect reciprocity that cascades down generations. This contrasts with a redistributive concern to mitigate the inequality between those who are young, healthy, able-bodied, and productive and those who are elderly, infirm, and out of work. I explore claims inspired by Ken Binmore and Joseph Heath that PAYG pensions in which each generation pays the pensions of the previous generation can be justified as in mutually advantageous Nash equilibrium. I also discuss the relevance to the case for PAYG of Thomas Piketty’s claim that r > g, where “r” is the rate of return on capital and “g” is the rate of growth of the economy.

Sep
16
Wed
“Supply and demand shocks in the COVID-19 pandemic: an industry and occupation perspective” @ Online
Sep 16 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
"Supply and demand shocks in the COVID-19 pandemic: an industry and occupation perspective” @ Online

The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on societies around the world.

As governments mandate social distancing practices and instruct non-essential businesses to close to slow the spread of the outbreak, there is significant uncertainty about the effect such measures will have on lives and livelihoods. While demand for specific sectors such as healthcare has skyrocketed in recent months, other sectors such as air transportation and tourism have seen demand for their services evaporate. At the same time, many sectors are experiencing issues on the supply-side, as governments curtail the activities of non-essential industries.

Which industries will suffer most from demand-side or supply-side shocks resulting from the pandemic? Which workers are most of risk of unemployment or reduced wage income? Who will be the winners and losers?

Professor Doyne Farmer and Maria del Rio-Chanona will talk about their recent paper which estimated these shocks would threaten around 22% of the US economy’s GDP, jeopardise 24% of jobs and reduce total wage income by 17% – while the potential impacts are a multiple of what was experienced during the global financial crisis, and perhaps comparable to the Great Depression. Aggressive fiscal and monetary policies are needed to minimise the impact of these shocks but the avoidance of endangering public health must be the priority.

This talk is in conjunction with The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford and the Oxford Review of Economic Policy.

To register and watch this talk live and participate in the Q & A: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/supply-and-demand-shocks

To watch later: https://youtu.be/5wtNm6ETuLQ

Oct
13
Tue
The big failure of small government: COVID-19 and public sector capacity @ Online
Oct 13 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
The big failure of small government: COVID-19 and public sector capacity @ Online

It is no coincidence that countries with mission-driven governments have fared better in the COVID-19 crisis than those beholden to the cult of efficiency.

Join Mariana Mazzucato, UCL professor and author of The Entrepreneurial State and The Value of Everything, in conversation with Oxford Martin School Director, Sir Charles Godfray, to discuss why states must invest again in dynamic capabilities and capacity – not only to govern more effectively during the pandemic, but to ultimately build back better.

This talk is in partnership with The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford and the Oxford Review of Economic Policy.

To register and watch this talk live: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/professor-mariana-mazzucato

The talk will also be streamed via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRMlPVgR7x0

Nov
19
Thu
Intersectionality and Inclusion Series: Pathways to visibility @ Saïd Business School - Online
Nov 19 @ 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Intersectionality and Inclusion Series: Pathways to visibility @ Saïd Business School - Online

How do you build inclusion from the ground up?

People with albinism face discrimination across the globe but are often left out of activist efforts around diversity and inclusion.

In this episode, we speak to representatives of Sesame Street Workshop, who have been championing diversity for years. With a breadth of expertise in the art of embracing diversity, this insightful look into the world of Sesame Street gives us new ways of approaching our goals. Supermodel and activist Diandra Forrest also joins the conversation. Fellow guest speaker Stephan Bognar, Executive Director of New York Dermatology Group Foundation, completes the line-up. They worked together previously on the Colorfull campaign, which was conceived by NYDG to highlight the prejudice that albinism attracts.

Jun
9
Wed
Restorative Just Culture: the story of Mersey Care NHS Trust @ Online
Jun 9 @ 12:15 pm – 1:30 pm
Restorative Just Culture: the story of Mersey Care NHS Trust @ Online

Amanda Oates (Executive Director of Workforce, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust) and Dr Kristina Brown (Senior Lecturer, Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University) will be speaking on the story of the Just and Learning Culture at Mersey Care NHS Trust.

In recent years, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust has undergone a radical shift in workplace culture and organisational procedures. They have gone from a blame culture to a culture where staff feel empowered and supported to learn from incidents. Numbers of disciplinary and suspension cases went down, staff reporting of adverse incidents went up, and there were positive effects on staff retention and levels of sickness absence.

Restorative justice was integral to these changes, termed the ‘Just and Learning Culture’. Amanda Oates and Kristina Brown will reflect on the impact of the restorative just culture at Mersey Care and help us to understand how other organisations can adopt a similar approach.

This event will be held online via Zoom (link TBA). Please contact joy@minthouseoxford.co.uk for more information.

You can register for this this event on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/restorative-just-culture-the-story-of-mersey-care-nhs-trust-tickets-146564629753