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Screening of "Finding the Money" by Maren Poitras

03 October 2024, 6:15 pm–8:45 pm

Finding the money

Join UCL IIPP for a screening of the movie "Finding the Money" by Maren Poitras

Event Information

Open to

All

Availability

Yes

Organiser

IIPP Comms

Location

Sir Ambrose Fleming Lecture Theatre
45: Roberts Building
Torrington Place
London
WC1E 7JE
United Kingdom

Join us for the screening of the movie "Finding the Money" followed by a panel discussion on Thursday 3rd October 2024 at 18:15-20:45 (BST) at the Sir Ambrose Fleming Lecture Theatre at University College London (UCL).

About this movie:

FINDING THE MONEY follows American economist Stephanie Kelton on a journey through Modern Money Theory or “MMT”. Kelton provocatively asserts the National Debt Clock that ticks ominously upwards in New York City is not actually a debt for us taxpayers at all, nor a burden for our grandchildren to pay back. Instead, Kelton describes the national debt as simply a historical record of the number of dollars created by the US federal government currently being held in pockets, as assets, by the rest of us. MMT bursts into the mainstream media, with journalists asking, “Have we been thinking about how the government spends money, all wrong?”. But top economists and politicians from across the political spectrum condemn the theory as “voodoo economics”, “crazy” and “a crackpot theory”. FINDING THE MONEY traces the conflict all the way back to the story we tell about money, injecting new hope and empowering countries around the world to tackle the biggest challenges of the 21st century: from climate change to inequality.

Finding the Money

Meet the panel:

  • Speaker: Patricia Pino | PhD candidate at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
  • Speaker: Zack Polanski | Deputy Leader of the Green Party for England and Wales
  • Speaker: Josh Ryan-Collins | Professor in Economics and Finance at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
  • Chair: William Thomson | Founder, Scotonomics

Read more about IIPP Conversations 2024-25

About the Speakers

Josh Ryan-Collins

Professor in Economics and Finance at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Josh Ryan-Collins
Josh is an economist with research expertise in money and banking, the economics of land and housing and sustainable finance. He has a particular interest in the financial system and its role in housing markets and environmental transition. His books include 'Where Does Money Come From?" (NEF: 2012), "Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing (Zed: 2017)" and "Why Can't you Afford a Home" (Polity: 2018). Josh is a Senior Policy Fellow with the UK Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) advising on housing affordability issues and is a council member of the Progressive Economy Forum (PEF) think tank. Prior to joining UCL in 2017, he worked for over a decade for the New Economics Foundation (NEF), one of the UK’s leading progressive think tanks, where he was Senior Economist. He previously worked in strategic communications in the UK civil service and for a marketing consultancy. Josh has published in journals including Nature Climate Change, Ecological Economics, Socioeconomic Review, the Cambridge Journal of Economics and Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space. He has also written numerous policy reports and writes regularly for The Guardian amongst other media outlets. His work has been funded by the European Commission, the UK government, the KR Foundation, Partners for a New Economy, the European Climate Foundation, Climateworks, the Laudes Foundation and Sunrise, amongst others. Josh has been convenor of IIPP's "Rethinking Capitalism" political economy module since 2019, available to graduate students across UCL. He also teaches macroeconomics and finance on IIPP's Masters in Public Administration. He overseas IIPP's PhD program as Departmental Graduate Tutor. More about Josh Ryan-Collins

Zack Polanski

Deputy Leader at Green Party for England and Wales

Zack Polanski
Zack is Deputy Leader of the Green Party for England and Wales. He is a member of the London Assembly and chairs London's Environment committee. In these two roles, his work recently has ranged from intersectional work with women around the globe on the front line of the crisis to campaigning around the country resulting in the Green Party's most successful elections yet. More about Zack Polanski

Patricia Pino Argumedo

PhD candidate at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

patricia_pino_argumedo_1_350_x_350
Patricia has worked as a consultant, researcher, and educational content creator. She attended King’s College London as a postgraduate where she obtained an MSc (with distinction) in Economics and Finance. Prior to this she also received an MEng (First class honours) in Mechanical Engineering from Cardiff University and has over 15 years of experience practicing engineering in the commercial sector, specialising in the Built Environment and Sustainability.
 
Patricia’s research interests focus on inflation, and the development of practical tools to assist policymakers with decision making. Within her research, she seeks to combine engineering methodologies for application in economics.


Other interests include:

  • Contending theories of value and the origins of money.
  • Methods to account for uncertainty in macroeconomic models.
  • The political economy of climate change policy.
  • Increasing the role of democracy in economic policy.
More about Patricia Pino Argumedo

William Thomson

Founder at Scotonomics

William Thomson
William studied neoclassical economics for one year at Dundee University in the 1990s, dropping the subject for something that seemed more practical and real-world and ending up with a Management Studies degree. He then worked in the commercial departments of a few financial services trade associations in London during and after the financial crisis. He then set up various events and training businesses. His interest in economics was rekindled during the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 when the YES campaign seemed to be getting into a mess, especially around their decision to try to form a currency union with the country they wanted to leave.

 

After several years of self-study, William set up SCOTONOMICS as a vehicle to disseminate information on economic issues that seemed to be rarely discussed in the mainstream, including the impact of the economy on the climate, inequality and how money really works.

SCOTONOMICS is now close to its 100th episode.

In 2022, William completed a Masters in the Green Economy.

William is midway through another master’s degree, this time in the Economics of Sustainability, a course created by heterodox economist and academic Steven Hail.

Currently based in Barcelona, William writes regular blog posts on economics and has a weekly newsletter published by The National newspaper in Scotland.

More about William Thomson