‘The new public sector pride’

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 first debate in the series, Maria Savona  and Maarten Goos go into conversation.

Maria Savona is an economist and professor of Innovation and Evolutionary Economics at SPRU, Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, UK. Over the past years she has been involved in several European Framework Projects. Her main research interests are the impact of innovation on employment and wages; the structural change of the sectoral composition of economies and their effects on growth and development; the economics and policy of innovation in services; spatial distribution of innovation and production activities; the effect of barriers to innovation. She has published widely in these areas in international peer-reviewed journals.

Maarten Goos is Full Professor of Economics and Institutions at Utrecht University. His research focuses on labour markets including technological progress, labour market intermediation, inequality and institutions. His award-winning research is published in international peer-reviewed journals, books and magazines. He is also an award-winning teacher. He held positions at Erasmus University Rotterdam, University College London and KU Leuven before joining Utrecht University. He is currently involved in various initiatives by the European Commission, national policy institutes and multinational corporations.