The Institute for New Economic Thinking pursues the following initiatives on a global scale:
RESEARCH: The Institute operates research programs across six broad economic themes: (1) Financial Stability, (2) Inequality and Income Distribution, (3) Innovation, Growth, and Development, (4) Environmental Economics, (5) The Economics of Governance and Political Power, and (6) Economic History and the
History of Economic Thought. Issue-specific task forces are formed to tackle the most pressing economic issues of the day. GRANTS: The Institute awards individual grants to individuals or teams proposing research in new economic thinking. Grants allow the in-depth examination of an issue or development of a concept, and average $25,000-$250,000 per grant. In many cases, The Institute funds projects that would not usually be funded through conventional academic funding channels. PARTNERSHIPS: The Institute establishes partnerships with leading universities, think tanks, and other research-oriented institutions around the world to provide intellectual hubs that support new economic thinking. This global network currently boasts 19 leading institutions located throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. CONFERENCES: The Institute stages a series of global conferences that bring together people from different disciplines to debate on vital issues that urgently require new economic thinking. Speakers at past Institute for New Economic Thinking annual conferences include: Nobel laureates George Akerlof, James Heckman, James Mirrlees, A. Michael Spence, and Joseph Stiglitz, government leaders like Larry Summers, Paul Volcker, and Gordon Brown, and major business figures, such as George Soros, Jim Balsille, Lord David Sainsbury, and Victor Fung. The Institute explored Asia’s emergence at the 2013 event in Hong Kong. It examined the architecture of the financial system at the 2011 event in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. And it investigated the causes of the most recent financial crisis at a 2010 event at Cambridge University in the U.K. A diverse series of smaller events are staged globally. Events are typically streamed live via video, offering millions of web users the opportunity to experience the discussions and understand the issues. YOUTH OUTREACH: The Institute is heavily involved in developing The Young Scholar's Initiative (YSI), a global network designed to support the next generation of new economic thinkers. YSI provides a home for students at all levels (undergraduate, graduate, masters, Ph.D.) who embrace critical thinking, intellectual discourse, and a sensitive understanding of the greater political economy, the philosophy of science, and a wider variety of perspectives and means of looking at economic phenomena. YSI is currently forming chapters across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. EDUCATION AND MULTIMEDIA: The Institute provides a rich environment for learning and collaboration around economics. Through extensive use of multimedia content and social media, it is able to connect a global community to share ideas, experience events in common, and discuss pressing developments relating to economics. The website contains video interviews with leading figures who are shaping the future of economics and other examples of New Economic Thinking, plus a range of thought provoking blogs. In 2013, the Institute will offer its first online economics course, in partnership with Barnard College, Columbia University, and Coursera.
