Policy Events (Feb 08 - Feb 14)
India's new budget, international financial institutions, minimum wages, inequality in the UK and Nepal are among the topics being discussed at think tank events next week.
Each week Policy People puts together a list of think tank events from around the globe. Below is our list for February 08 to February 14. There are many events next week discussing issues related to economics, from the global influence of international financial institutions to the domestic impacts of the minimum wage, as well as talks on India’s new budget and economic disparities in the UK. There are also two events on Nepal - one on the country’s foreign policy and the other on new urban cultures in Kathmandu.
Want to get the word out about your institute's upcoming event? I’m happy to help. Simply reply to this email and send me the details with a link to the event page.
Enjoy the events!
Want to get all Policy People has to offer? Join our mailing list today.
Webinar
CENTRE FOR POLICY RESEARCH - Monday, February 8 @ 6pm India Standard Time (UTC+5:30)
The 5-Institute Budget Seminar 2021: 'The COVID-19 Budget: Unpacking the Union Budget 2021-22'
The Union Budget 2021-22 will be presented to India’s Parliament on February 1. All eyes are on this COVID-19 Budget as the race between the virus and the vaccine quickens against the backdrop of the worst economic downturn in independent India’s history. What fiscal impulses will help India catch up with its 2019-20 real GDP level and simultaneously cut the headline deficit? How well will the Budget have provided for reviving jobs and incomes? Besides vaccinating close to a billion Indians, what will the Budget point to for improving India’s health systems, learning from the pandemic? How well will it spur deeper structural reforms needed to improve the investment climate and boost India’s long-term competitiveness in global trade? Join the heads of five institutes, CPR, ICRIER, IDF, NCAER, and NIPFP, as they come together to present a reform and development perspective on the 2021-22 Union Budget.
For more information and registration: https://www.cprindia.org/events/9472
Virtual event
THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION - Tuesday, February 9 @ 12pm Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5)
The Faces of a $15 Minimum Wage
In 2021, many of the businesses that were hardest hit by the pandemic now face a new threat that could push them out of business for good. President Biden and other liberal lawmakers in Congress want to impose a $15 national minimum wage as part of their so-called “American Rescue Plan.” Higher wages are a great thing when they come from workers producing more value, but a host of unintended consequences arise when governments try to artificially increase wages. Join us as we talk to everyday Americans about how a $15 federal minimum wage would affect them and their businesses.
For more information and registration: https://www.heritage.org/jobs-and-labor/event/virtual-event-the-faces-15-minimum-wage
Virtual event
THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF ASIAN RESEARCH - Tuesday, February 9 @ 1pm Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5)
Reshaping Indo-Pacific Trade Relations through Renewed American Engagement
Recent years have seen significant changes in the US approach to Indo-Pacific trade. Under the Biden administration, which has pledged to pursue a foreign policy focused on rekindling alliances, re-engaging in multilateralism, and restoring US leadership abroad, US trade policy in the region is again poised for a dramatic shift. Please join the NBR for a discussion with Robert Holleyman, Charles Boustany, Claire Reade, and others on the most pressing issues in Indo-Pacific trade relations and the Biden administration’s approach toward the region.
For more information and registration: https://www.nbr.org/event/reshaping-indo-pacific-trade-relations-through-renewed-american-engagement/
Zoom event
NEPAL INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND ENGAGEMENT - Tuesday, February 9 @ 3pm (UTC+4:45)
Challenges of Nepal’s Foreign Policy
Nepal increasingly finds itself at the epicenter of a geopolitical storm as its two giant neighbors vie for dominance in its Himalayan backyard, presenting Kathmandu with new diplomatic challenges. Yet, despite it’s geostrategic importance, little attention has been paid to how Nepal itself views these new developments, what it sees as its core interests are and how it will attempt to secure them going forward. What is the Nepalese approach to the Indo-Pacific region? How does it plan to maintain diplomatic autonomy between New Delhi and Beijing? How will it manage resource scarcity and other major environmental issues with its South Asian neighbors? No one is better positioned to provide insight into these matters than Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, Nepal’s Former Foreign Minister and Former Ambassador to the US and India. Join us as we peer with him into Nepal’s future and how the country’s foreign policy will shape the broader region.
For more information and registration: https://niice.org.np/archives/events/nepal
Webcast
ASIA SOCIETY AUSTRALIA - Tuesday, February 9 @ 10am (UTC+11)
Flashpoints: Southeast Asia and US-China Competition
As we enter a new year and a new US administration, how will Southeast Asia continue to navigate changing power dynamics within its region? As voiced by Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong last year, when it comes to US vs China, “don’t make us choose” has been resounding sentiment across in recent years. 2021 however, is set to be a year like no other. As the world faces ongoing fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasingly assertive China, and a new US presidency to boot, what then lies in the balance for an ASEAN region seeking political and economic security in the midst of uncertainty? Are the great power scales leaning one way over the other? Asia Society Australia warmly invites you to a roundtable discussion with Elina Noor, Director, Political-Security Affairs at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
For more information and registration: https://asiasociety.org/australia/events/gen-flashpoints-southeast-asia-and-us-china-competition
Webinar
SOCIAL MARKET FOUNDATION - Tuesday, February 9 @ 2pm Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
Addressing Britain’s interregional inequalities
Arguments about the need to “level up” Britain with a new distribution of wealth and power have become a staple of political debate. But while the phrase is common, ideas about what it actually means are remarkably scarce. So too are clear definitions of the problem, and solutions to that problem. We will help to fill these gaps with the help of some of Britain’s leading authorities on regional inequality, connectivity and governance. Professor Philip McCann of Sheffield University, one of our country’s foremost economic geographers, will outline how more devolution could help address Britain’s very high interregional inequalities – and the challenges to doing so. He will also explain why many of the currently popular narratives around regional inequality are wrong. He will be joined by Lead Economist at Midlands Connect, Henry Kelly and SMF Director, James Kirkup (Chair). Join us for what promises to be a highly topical and informative discussion.
For more information and registration: https://www.smf.co.uk/events/addressing-britains-interregional-inequalities/
Webinar
THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ASIAN STUDIES - Wednesday, February 10 @ 11am Central European Time (UTC+1)
Urban compositions: contested place-making in Thamel, Kathmandu
Thamel is notorious as a hub for alternative lifestyles in Kathmandu, and, despite having been mislabeled a 'tourist place’, Nepali consumers far outnumber and outspend foreign tourists there. What drives so many young Nepalis to partake in the neighbourhood's eclectic offerings? What are these Thamel practices, and what do they communicate? This webinar explores Nepalis' Thamel-based lifeworlds and the historical dynamics that generated them. The past 30 years in Nepal have been marked by all manner of social, political and cultural transformations. Depending on one's social location, Thamel can promise a Nepali cosmopolitanism, or else it can pose a threat to 'traditional' values. The neighbourhood increasingly offers new expressions of youth identity, new possibilities for social experimentation, and new modes of being Nepali in the 21st century. Join us for this ethnographic talk to explore the historical and cultural dynamics of Thamel, a space whose diverse meanings reflect and reproduce broader socio-spatial contestations in contemporary Nepal.
For more information and registration: https://www.iias.asia/events/urban-compositions-contested-place-making-thamel-kathmandu
Webinar
OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION - Wednesday, February 10 @ 10:30am India Standard Time (UTC+5:30)
Post-Pandemic Economic Recovery: Seven Priorities for India
India’s economic recovery will be dependent on demand generation by direct government fiscal intervention. In his latest paper, Abhijit Mukhopadhyay outlines a seven-point fiscal stimulus path that India should take in the short-run. Join us as we delve into the mechanics of the stimulus and discuss how the country must brace itself for the volatility that the economic restart will bring.
For more information and registration: https://www.orfonline.org/research/fellows-seminar-series-post-pandemic-economic-recovery-seven-priorities-india/
Webinar
TONY BLAIR INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE - Thursday, February 11 @ 11am Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
Social value: fresh thinking about what counts in the public and private sectors
In his book ‘IMPACT: Reshaping capitalism to drive real change’, Sir Ronnie Cohen outlines a manifesto for how companies can put social and environmental goals at the heart of their traditional pursuit of profit. Meanwhile Michael Barber has worked with HM Treasury to recast government’s approach to maximising the public value from government spending, taking account of the outcomes achieved by public services in terms of public engagement, environmental impact and direct outcomes for service users. What these pioneering approaches have in common is a desire to widen the focus of both public and private sector institutions in order to maximise the value produced, by revolutionising the public and private sectors. Join us to discuss these matters and more at this webinar.
For more information and registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pMIU9CkKTLOaBs5Mk7HeOQ?utm_campaign=20054-&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Institute%20Interests
Webinar
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT - Thursday, February 11 @ 10:30am Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
Climate adaptation and resilience vision: what will success look like?
The impacts of climate change demand urgent action. There have been some strong commitments coming through and more expected. But what about adaptation and resilience? As we move towards COP26, what should our adaptation ambition look like and what more is needed in 2021 to drive a strong post-COP26 adaptation agenda? The world is up against the clock to design and commit to strong and enduring adaptation commitments. This event will bring together speakers from government, business and civil society to pitch what strong adaptation ambition at COP26 needs to look like, what they are doing about it, and how to judge what success looks like for us all.
For more information and registration: https://www.iied.org/climate-adaptation-resilience-vision-what-will-success-look
Zoom event
THE KIEL INSTITUTE FOR THE WORLD ECONOMY - Thursday, February 11 @ 1pm Central European Time (UTC+1)
Gaining Ground, Gaining Influence? Vote Shares and Power in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Why do countries join the AIIB and what do they gain from membership? This paper examines the distribution of vote shares in the AIIB relative to that of existing international financial institutions (IFIs). Our analysis supports the hypotheses that countries with lower vote shares in existing IFIs are more likely to join the AIIB and member states have higher vote shares in the AIIB than in other IFIs. Developing countries also experience higher gains in vote shares than developed countries. The results show no evidence that vote distribution in the AIIB privilege countries with greater political or economic proximity to China, which challenges the dominant explanation that the AIIB serves as an instrument that reflects or furthers Chinese interests. Join us to discuss the real policy implications of this research paper.
For more information and registration: https://www.ifw-kiel.de/institute/events/other-events/2021/gaining-ground-gaining-influence-vote-shares-and-power-in-the-asian-infrastructure-invest-ment-bank-aiib/
If you feel you get real value out of this newsletter and would like a way to show your appreciation and support my work, I’ve now set up a page where you can buy me a coffee. It’s $2 a cup. Thanks!
That’s all for now. Don’t forget to check in next week for more updates.
If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to reply to this email, leave a comment or message me at my LinkedIn profile.
Stay well and stay safe,
- Liam
Founder of Policy People