Professor Sir Tim Besley, School Professor of Economics and Political Science and W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics at London School of Economics, is among the world’s leading scholars of political economy.

His research has provided frameworks for understanding political incentives, the development of state capacity, economic conflict, and threats to democratic practices, and the politics of green transition. He has published widely on empirical cases studying these topics the United States, India, Africa and Sweden.   

Academic speaker:

Professor Dean Karlan, Professor of Economics and Finance, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Prof. Dean Karlan’s research focuses on poverty using experimental methods and behavioral economics. His work spans over 20 countries and covers topics such as income generation for the poor, credit and savings for low-income households, smallholder agriculture, and entrepreneurship. He was the Chief Economist of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) from 2022-2025. Prof. Karlan will help us understand the possible wider impacts we will see of the sudden and drastic reductions in aid budgets around the world — and what progress might still be possible in a world with sharply reduced foreign aid. 

Academic speaker:

Professor Tima Bansal, Professor of Sustainability and Strategy at the Ivey Business School. 

Prof. Tima Bansal’s research examines how businesses can align profitability with environmental and social responsibility. Prof. Bansal will reflect on how the geopolitical uncertainty reshapes organizational time horizons, decision-making priorities, and sustainability commitments.  

Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson, Moderator, TV-program host, keynote speaker and writer