Public Events
The Berry Center was launched in the fall of 2006 with an inaugural address by Nobel Laureate Robert Solow, professor of economics emeritus at MIT. Since then prominent public intellectuals and policy experts have regularly visited the campus to present scholarly research or discuss issues in the public square.
The Berry Center also organizes symposia in applied economics, and panel discussions focused on contemporary issues in economics and public policy.
Prominent Public Lectures |
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Nobel Laureate Gary Becker, economist, University of Chicago Nobel Laureate and University of Chicago economist Gary Becker gave a public lecture entitled "The Worldwide Boom in Higher Education and Why the United States is Falling Behind." Becker, who won the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economic Science in 1992, the National Medal of Science in 2000 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007, among others, is the author of 10 books and more than 100 professional articles. He is an expert in human capital, economic incentives, economics of the family, and economic analysis of crime, discrimination and population. Becker has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1969. He was influenced by economist Milton Friedman, who taught Becker in 1951 at the University of Chicago. This event was co-sponsored by the Berry Center for Economics, Business, and Public Policy and the Roe Howard Freedom Lecture. |
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Sam Peltzman, economist, University of Chicago The causes and consequences of the 2008 financial crisis were the focus of a major public lecture by Professor Sam Peltzman, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago. Peltzman is one of the world's leading authorities on the economics of government regulation. He has long argued that unintended consequences frustrate the intent of government regulation, tending to make regulation ineffective or counter-productive. In his presentation, "Regulation and Financial Crisis: Unsafe at Any Speed", he explained how financial regulations, in particular deposit insurance, were offset by banks with riskier behavior that contributed to the 2008 crisis. Peltzman was the Director of the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State at the University of Chicago. He has also served on the President's Council of Economic Advisors. Peltzman presented in Professor Chris Conrad's Health Economics Course and made a public presentation entitled, "Regulation and Financial Crisis: Unsafe at Any Speed?" He was joined by Berry Center Advisory Board members, members of Omicron Delta Epsilon (the economics honor society) and other guests for a reception. |
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Robert Frank, economist, Cornell University Internationally renowned behavioral economist Robert Frank lectured on the economic role of the government during his visit to Cornell. His public talk was entitled "The Libertarian Welfare State: Governing with a Light Touch." He argued that the government is justified in intervening in the market when private behavior has the potential for creating either direct or indirect social harm. Frank, an economics professor at Cornell University, is an expert on income inequality and contributes a monthly column to the New York Times. Frank also joined a Berry Center reading group for a discussion and book signing. The reading group used Frank's book The Economic Naturalist: In Search of Explanations for Everyday Enigmas as their selection. |
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Tim Roemer, former U.S. Congressman and ambassador to India The Berry Center hosted former Congressman and member of the 9/11 Commission Tim Roemer for a talk entitled "National Security Challenges in the 21st Century." As Congressman from the Third District of Indiana (1991-2003), Roemer was the leading Democrat on the U.S. House Education Committee when the No Child Left Behind legislation was passed. He was a member of the blue-ribbon 9/11 Commission, and served as U.S. ambassador to India in the Obama administration. |
Additional Public Speakers Previously Supported by the Berry Center
Symposia and Panel Discussions
For more information about public events, |
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