Canadian student perspectives on new economic thinking: reflections from the INET conference at Bretton Woods

The short essays in this series are by CIGI-sponsored Canadian university students who attended the INET conference, Crisis and Renewal: International  Political Economy at the Crossroads, at Bretton Woods, NH, April 8–11, 2011. Each student was asked to write a short reflection on the conference themes.

The Canadian students selected to attend the conference were from both undergraduate and graduate economics programs at Canadian universities. In addition to attending the conference sessions, they joined their American counterparts at a joint CIGI-INET student breakfast session where students raised questions about policy development, the continued gender imbalance in economics and the shortcomings in current economics curriculum offerings.   

(Image Credit: Mount Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods, NH/TalkingTree/Flickr)

 

In the Series

The Economics Curriculum: Increasing Relevance to the Real World

Student Essay
Sara Rose
The conference attracted some of the biggest names in global economics and provided a forum to discuss and debate a wide range of topics.

Global and National Governance for a Changing World Economy

Student Essay
James Partridge
It will become increasingly important to foster agreement between countries that may not traditionally be allies.

Institutional (Re)design for the Post-2007 Global Economic Order: Recalibrating the Multilateral-National Nexus

Student Essay
Ryan Hilimoniuk
A primary topic of discussion was the need to recalibrate the relationship between supranational regulation and national sovereignty.

Credit and Stability

Student Essay
Sebastien Forte
Economic crises arise as a result of the breakdown of key components of the financial system.

Needed: Economics for the Real Global Economy

Student Essay
Aaron Weisbrod
Overall, the conference struck me as working towards a set of global solutions and structures to deal with both current and future crises.

Financial Markets and the Environment: Key Economic Similarities

Student Essay
Michael Stepner
When I was invited to attend the INET conference, I felt it was an opportunity to do something quite different from my ordinary studies.

From Multi- to Mini-lateralism: Globalization’s Next Stage?

Student Essay
Dan Herman
“Politics has returned to the national.” Those were the words of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the INET conference.

Post-2007 Financial Governance and Capital Controls: Reassessing Policy Toolkits

Student Essay
Veronica Rubio Vega
In the immediate aftermath of the global financial crisis, capital flowed out of emerging and developing economies.

Economists Ought to Be More like Dentists

Student Essay
Monica Jain
A driving force behind current economic conditions is people’s behaviour and expectations of future conditions.

Research Agenda for International Economic Governance

Student Essay
Warren Clarke
We live in an increasingly globalized world. That this notion has grown hopelessly clichéd does not render its content less salient.

Making Economics Relevant for the Real World

Student Essay
Afshan Dar
Upon arriving in Bretton Woods, the significance of the location and impending conference activities suddenly became very apparent to me.