Residential conference: Manifesto and research frontiers for a Renaissance in Economics

The manifesto for a wider economic perspective (full text attached to the Call for Papers) signed by more than 260 Italian academics advocates for a new economic paradigm going beyond reductionist approaches in five directions: i) human beings are more than homines economici, have also other-regarding preferences and are capable of cooperative equilibria in social dilemmas; ii) companies and organisations do not have profit maximisation as unique goal but can also have a taste for social and environmental impact; iii) wellbeing is more than GDP and requires multidimensional wellbeing indicators and macroeconomic analysis where interdependences between creation of economic value and social and environmental domains are taken into account; iv) political economy is not just top down but includes the lever of participation and active citizenship in different forms; v) civic engagement of academicians is important in times in which vigilance and action to solve global crises are of utmost importance and we risk a broadening gap between scientific advances and the average culture and education of the overall population.

The conference will host six main moments:

1. Session of presentation and discussion of the Manifesto;
2. Keynote speech of top scholar invited speakers dealing with the pillars of the Manifesto;
3. Sessions of presentation of submitted and accepted research papers working on the pillars of the Manifesto;
4. Assembly of Manifesto co-signers;
5. Roundtable about the Manifesto and policy suggestions for Italy in the era of shocks;
6. Roundtable with stakeholders of new economics reconciling creation of economic value with social and environmental impact

The five research fields on which research papers submitted for presentation at the Conference are welcome

• Beyond homo economicus: contributions in the field of economics (such as capability approach, feminist, behavioral and comparative economics, …) providing empirical evidence and/or discussing theories about individual preferences, role of empathy and emotions, caring regimes, educational and welfare systems, cooperative equilibria in social dilemmas, wondering how the new findings in this field can affect microeconomic foundations and macroeconomic approaches contributing to solve social and environmental dilemmas and to design better policies.
• Beyond profit maximisation: theoretical and empirical contributions on purpose and goal of firms and organisations beyond profit maximisation, with focus on social and environmental impact, gender equity and creation of economic value with values.
• Beyond GDP: contributions to the literature of multidimensional societal wellbeing taking into account social and environmental domains, capabilities, complex systems, multi-sectoral approaches, sustainable development and on the relative impact of income versus non income drivers on life satisfaction and life sense.
• Beyond the exclusivity of a top-down approach to political economy: theoretical and empirical contributions on the role and potential of grassroot initiatives, action of local communities, co-creation of welfare strategies of local administrations with profit and not for profit actors, horizontal and vertical subsidiarity and multi-level policies.
• Toward social engagement: theoretical and empirical contributions on the effects and importance of the civic role of academicians.

Contributions from the history of economic ideas in the five research fields indicated above would be greatly appreciated, by providing evidence of historical roots of our Manifesto.      In the conference a prize for the best young scholar’s (under 35) paper on Manifesto topics will be awarded.

Here you find the full text of the call for proposals.