‘How are we thinking about work in the future ?’

Since the economic crisis of 2008, the current economic model has increasingly come under question, even though there is no obvious alternative at hand. Economists, therefore, are searching for signs that herald the next era: sustainability, a return to governmental intervention, the pursuit of happiness, etc. This autumn, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura will seek answers to these questions in the debate series Economics of the future: the deficit of choice. During the last debate in the series, Stefano Scarpetta and Erika Widegren will talk about this topic.

Stefano Scarpetta is the director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs at the OECD; his brief also covers OECD work on health and international migration.  He led several large-scale research projects, including: Implementing the OECD Jobs Strategy; the Sources of Economic Growth in OECD Countries. From 2002 to 2006 he worked at the World Bank. In this capacity, he coordinated a Bank-wide research programme of Employment and Development and contributed extensively to the Bank's investment climate assessments. He has published in academic journals, including in the American Economic Review, The Economic Journal, Economic Policy and The International Journal of Industrial Organisation.

Erika Widegren is Chief Executive of Re-Imagine Europa (RIE). She has been working in the field of connecting science, society and policy for over a decade. She is fellow at PlusValue, a UK-based European company focusing on social innovation, and a board member of Citizen Communication Platform, a Swedish project to promote stronger communication with citizens. From 2010 to 2015 she was the Executive Director of Atomium – European Institute for Science, Media and Democracy working on issues like science in society, responsible research and innovation, digital Science, evidence-based policy making and citizen engagement. She is a frequent speaker and moderator at European conferences on these topics.

Erika Widegren is Chief Executive of Re-Imagine Europa (RIE). She has been working in the field of connecting science, society and policy for over a decade. She is fellow at PlusValue, a UK-based European company focusing on social innovation, and a board member of Citizen Communication Platform, a Swedish project to promote stronger communication with citizens. From 2010 to 2015 she was the Executive Director of Atomium – European Institute for Science, Media and Democracy working on issues like science in society, responsible research and innovation, digital science, evidence-based policy making and citizen engagement. She is a frequent speaker and moderator at European conferences on these topics.