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OSUN-EDI Summer Workshop

Public Finance and Economic Policy

June 12–18, 2023
Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson
 

***The 2023 application period is closed. We plan to announce the call for applications for the 2024 workshop in September 2023.***

The Open Society University Network (OSUN) welcomes undergraduate applications for its summer workshop in Public Finance and Economic Policy. Organized and hosted by the OSUN Economic Democracy Initiative (EDI), this eight-day workshop is for undergraduate students interested in public policy to tackle economic instability and insecurity, and in understanding the financing capacity and policy space available to governments to pursue these aims. 

All undergraduate students, regardless of whether they attend an OSUN institution, are welcome to apply. Applicants from partner OSUN institutions are eligible for financial assistance and are especially encouraged to apply. 

OSUN students pursuing the OSUN Certificate in Public Policy and Economic Analysis may substitute their summer workshop participation for one of the certificate’s elective courses. 

COVID and the climate crisis have taught us that governments must act decisively to tackle the most pressing challenges before us, and not leave solutions exclusively to private actors. These developments have led to a rethinking of the role of the state on a global scale. How shall we think about the policy options before different governments? What are their abilities to achieve them? What kind of real or financial constraints do they face? This workshop will provide students with a new framework for thinking about these questions and with concrete tools and techniques to explore these policy-relevant concerns. 

Learning Objectives 
During the OSUN-EDI Summer Workshop, students will: 
1. Develop a new framework for thinking about economic stabilization, full and meaningful employment, poverty alleviation, and policies to address climate change and COVID related concerns. 
2. Explore current research on rethinking the role of the state in economic policy and the nature of public finance. 
3. Produce a basic stock-flow consistent analysis of government budgets, with an appreciation of institutional differences across countries. 
4. Receive training in the balance-sheet approach to government spending and taxation. 
5. Apply these methodological and analytical insights to policy-relevant questions. 
6. Learn to communicate policy ideas effectively: write and speak for policy audience

Format 
The Summer Workshop consists of a mix of traditional lectures, breakout discussions, group projects and assignments, and applied economic analysis.

To apply 
Please fill out this Google Form, where you will upload the following documents:

  1. A letter of motivation
  2. Your current transcript
  3. A short email recommendation from your faculty or advisor
***2023 application deadline close. We plan to announce the call for applications for the 2024 workshop in September 2023.***

Costs
Space is limited and spots will be allocated subject to a successful application. For all accepted applicants, tuition, room and board are covered. Accepted OSUN participants are also eligible for additional flight assistance. Any other travel-related costs are the responsibility of the participant, including but not limited to visa fees; ground transportation to/from your departing/returning airport; ground transportation from the airport if you miss the free shuttle bus to campus.
For priority consideration, applicants are strongly encouraged to apply by October 30, 2022

Workshop Schedule 
Day 1: Urgent Questions, New Insights 
Day 2: Government Budgets in Context: A Macroeconomic Framework
Day 3: Connecting Stocks and Flows: The Balance Sheet Approach 
Day 4: Bottom-Up Government Policies 
Day 5: Further Explorations in Public Policy around the World
Day 6: The Legacy of the New Deal
Day 7: Communicating Economic Policy

2022 Workshop Schedule

June 6th-10th, 2022 | Bard College

Sunday, June 5
Students arrive at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY

Monday, June 6

9:00 - 9:15 AM: Welcome Address | Jonathan Becker (Vice Chancellor, OSUN and Executive Vice President, Bard College)
9:15 - 10:00 AM: “Connecting Human Rights with Economic Policy” | Pavlina R. Tcherneva (Director, OSUN Economic Democracy Initiative, Bard College)
10:00 - 10:15 AM: Coffee Break
10:15 - 11:00 AM: “A New Approach to Public Finance” | Pavlina R. Tcherneva (Bard College)
11:00 - 11:45 AM: “The Spectrum of Monetary Sovereignty” | Fadhel Kaboub (Denison University, Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity)
11:45 AM - 12:30 PM: Breakout Groups    
12:45 - 1:45 PM: Lunch
2:00 - 2:45 PM: “The Last Colonial Currency: The Case of the CFA Franc” | Ndongo Samba Sylla (Rosa Luxemburg Foundation)
2:45 - 3:30 PM: "The Case of Palestine: Material Excesses of an Occupied Economy" | Sophia Stamatopoulou-Robbins (Bard College)
3:30 - 3:45 PM: Coffee Break
3:45 - 4:30 PM:  “The Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Economic Policy, Monetary Sovereignty, and the Impact of Sanctions” | Oleksandr Valchyshen (University of Missouri - Kansas City)
5:00 - 8:00 PM: Welcome BBQ with live music, hosted by Leon Botstein, President of Bard College 

Tuesday, June 7
9:00 - 10:00 AM: “Introduction: The Sector Balances Approach” | Yeva Nersisyan (Franklin & Marshall College)
10:00 - 10:30 AM: “Deriving the Sector Balances: A Step-By-Step Guide” | Kyle Mohr (EDI, Bard College)
10:30 - 10:45 AM: Coffee Break
10:45 AM - 12:30 PM: Lab - Constructing Sectoral Balances | Liudmila Malyshava, Oleksandr Valchyshen, Patricia Pino, Matt Robinson, Sam Levey, Kyle Mohr
12:45 - 1:45 PM: Lunch
2:00 - 3:30 PM: Student Presentations | Yeva Nersisyan (Franklin & Marshall College)
3:30 - 3:45 PM: Coffee Break
3:45 - 4:30 PM: “Spotlight on the Eurozone” | Dirk Ehnts (TU Chemnitz; Pufendorf Gesellschaft) 
4:30 - 5:00 PM: Lab - Deriving Sectoral Balances for Home Countries    
5:00 - 5:30 PM: Discussion    

Wednesday, June 8
9:00 - 10:00 AM: “Balance Sheet Operations: Connecting Stocks and Flows” | Eric Tymoigne (Lewis & Clark College) 
10:00 - 11:00 AM: Lab - Basic Balance Sheet Operations | Eric Tymoigne, Dirk Ehnts, Oleksandr Valchyshen, Matt Robinson, Sam Levey, Kyle Mohr
11:00 - 11:15 AM: Coffee Break
11:15 - 11:45 AM: Review Exercises | Kyle Mohr and workshop faculty
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM: “Money Pyramid, Balance Sheets, and Monetary Sovereignty" | Kyle Mohr (EDI, Bard College) 
12:45 - 1:45 PM: Lunch
2:00 - 3:00 PM: "Balance Sheet Mechanics of Fiscal and Monetary Policy: Coordination and Consolidation" | Eric Tymoigne 
3:00 - 3:45 PM: Lab - Government Spending and Taxation | Eric Tymoigne and workshop faculty
3:45 - 4:00 PM: Coffee Break
4:00 - 4:30 PM: Review Exercises | Eric Tymoinge and workshop faculty 
4:30 - 5:15 PM: Special Topics | Yeva Nersisyan, Dirk Ehnts, and Fadhel Kaboub 
5:15 - 5:45 PM: Group photo at Reem-Kayden Center 

Thursday, June 9
9:00 - 9:45 AM: “Full Employment and Macroeconomic Policy” | Pavlina R. Tcherneva (EDI, Bard College) 
9:45 - 10:30 AM: “The Job Guarantee: History, New Deal, and Civil Rights Legacy” | Fadhel Kaboub (Denison University; Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity) 
10:30 - 11:15 AM: “Experiences with Public Employment Programs from around the World” | Jordan Ayala (EDI, Bard College) 
11:15 - 11:30 AM: Coffee Break
11:30 AM: Depart for Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) Library    
1:00 - 2:00 PM: “FDR Library Keynote Address: Aspirational Law and the Economic Bill of Rights” at the The Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home” | Philip Harvey (Rutgers Law School) 
2:00 - 4:00 PM: Tour of FDR House and Library    

Friday, June 10
9:30 - 10:15 AM: "China: A Global Economic Power on the Rise” | Yan Liang (Willamette University)
10:15 - 10:30 AM: Coffee Break
10:30 - 11:30 AM: "Financing China’s Economic Development" | Yan Liang (Willamette University) 
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM: Student Breakout Groups
12:30 - 2:00 PM: Lunch
2:00 - 2:45 PM: “Africa: Development, Monetary Sovereignty, Economic Dependence” | Ndongo Samba Sylla (Rosa Luxemburg Foundation)
2:45 - 3:30 PM: "Public Spending in Latin America: The Peruvian Case” | Patricia Pino (Kings College London) 
3:30 - 3:45 PM: Coffee Break
3:45 - 4:30 PM: "An Alternative Framework for Global Public Policy" | L. Randall Wray (Bard College, Levy Economics Institute) 
4:30 - 5:00 PM: Summer Workshop Concluding Remarks | Pavlina R. Tcherneva (EDI, Bard College)
5:00 - 9:00 PM: Farewell Dinner with live band

All sessions on Bard College campus will be held in Reem-Kayden Center for Science and Computation - RKC 103 - Laszlo Z. Bito ‘60 Auditorium

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