This lecture is organised by St Anthony's College

Two years ago, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, called for the financial system to return to “abroad sense of promoting the wellbeing” of those whom it serves. He argued for what he called a “change in culture”. An interdisciplinary group within Oxford is investigating how such a change in culture might be brought about.

The first need is for an increase in professionalism – involving a service to service to clients that is sustained by a continuing relationship, carried out with integrity, one which displays a genuine concern for the interests of others.

The second requirement is a move towards more a more appropriate form of corporate governance, one which aligns the interests of financial institutions with society more generally, and enables the firms that are financed to support the needs of a wider set of stakeholders and a wider range of social purposes. This seminar will describe ways in which these two objectives might be promoted.

Venue: European Studies Centre, 70 Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6HR

No registration needed, all welcome

About the speakers

David Vines is Director of Ethics & Economics at INET Oxford; Professor of Economics, and a Fellow of Balliol College, at the University of Oxford. He is also Adjunct Professor of Economics at the Australian National University, and a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

From 2008 to 2012 he was the Research Director of the European Union’s Framework Seven PEGGED Research Program, which analysed Global Economic Governance within Europe. Professor Vines received a BA from Melbourne University in 1971, and subsequently an MA and PhD from Cambridge University. From 1985 to 1992 he was Adam Smith Professor of Political Economy at the University of Glasgow.

His research interests are in macroeconomics, including financial frictions, fiscal and monetary interactions, and financial crisis. His recent books include: The Leaderless Economy: Why the World Economic System Fell Apart and How to Fix It (Princeton University Press, 2013, with Peter Temin); The IMF and its Critics: Reform of Global Financial Architecture (Cambridge University Press, 2004, with Christopher Gilbert) and The Asian Financial Crisis: Causes, Contagion and Consequences (Cambridge University Press, 1999, with Pierre-Richard Agénor, Marcus Miller, and Axel Weber)

Nicholas Morris is an Oxford Martin Visiting Fellow at INET Oxford and Academic Visitor and Senior Research Associate at Balliol College, Oxford. He is an economist with 35 years of wide-ranging experience: in the finance, water, energy, transport, telecoms, and health sectors; in infrastructure provision; and in the design of regulatory structures.

He was a co-founder and then Chief Executive of London Economics, for a period of 14 years, and, prior to that, was Deputy Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Nicholas has an MA in Engineering and Economics and an MPhil in Economics from Balliol College, Oxford. He has been a visiting Professor of City University, a Governor of the charity 'Research into Ageing', a Fellow of Melbourne University and a Guest Professor at the China Executive Leadership Academy, Pudong. During the last 12 years he has worked extensively in Australia, South East Asia, and China advising governments, regulators, and companies.