Ceteris Never Paribus: The History of Economic Thought Podcast

Guest: Saarang Narayan (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali) Host and Producer: Maria Bach (University of Lausanne) A political poster issued by the Bharatiya Janta Party in recent years, promoting the Swadeshist message as part of their “Ghar Ghar Swadeshi” (Swadeshi in Every Household) campaign. A list of key terms with short explanations discussed in the episode Swadeshi is a Hindi/Hindustani word that literally means ‘of one’s own country’ (swa=one’s own/self; desh=country). The slogan gained popularity in the early twentieth century, especially in the popular movement against the partition of Bengal in 1905, and went on to inspire the founding of domestic institutions and the production and consumption of goods as modes of anti-colonial politics. Although it remained part of the discourse around developmentalism and economic planning in the mid-twentieth century, it regained popularity in the context of the public debates about globalisation and neoliberalism in the 1980s and 1990s. While it is comparable to slogans like ‘Buy British’ or ‘Buy American’, there is a characteristic ethical and socio-cultural dimension that separates Swadeshist principles from simple autarky or protectionism. This ethical and socio-cultural dimension concerns the definition of the Swadeshist ‘self’ along religious and cultural lines, often limiting it to Hinduism. Hindu Nationalism is a broad term used here to encapsulate those visions of nationalism in India that define the Indian identity and history through the lens of Hinduism. This is to say that Hindu Nationalists often link the modern nation-state to a primordial Hindu past, where the religious and cultural practices of the supposed ancient Hindu peoples defined their identities. While India’s contemporary Hindu far-right has spearheaded this form of nationalism, there have been other actors who subscribe to such a vision of the Indian nation. What makes the Hindu far-right different from other such actors is the former’s palingenetic, Islamophobic, and xenophobic interpretations of Hindu Nationalism. The Hindu far-right describes its mode of Hindu Nationalism as ‘Hindutva’ or Hindu-ness, as outlined in the works of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteers’ Union) was founded in 1925. It is the apex body of the Hindu far-right with the goal of (re-)establishing India as a Hindu Nation. The RSS was founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar as a para-militaristic body of Hindu men to arm Hindu society against its cultural enemies. The second supreme-leader of the RSS, Madhavrao Sadashiv Golwalkar, identified these enemies in order of the threat that they posed to Hindus as follows: Muslims, Christians, and Communists. The RSS primarily functions through local chapters (shakhas or branches) and is comprised of volunteers (swayamsevaks) and led by preachers (pracharaks). Although Swadeshist ideas were primarily popularised by political actors who were summarily opposed to the politics of the RSS, the RSS adopted Swadeshi in the 1950s, and it has remained at the core of its economic thought ever since. Throughout its century-long existence, the RSS has faced three major bans and, despite its majoritarian, fascistic goals, has adapted strategies of dynamism and flexibility in its tactics, ideas, and political language to meet these challenges. The first two decades of independent India were the lowest point in the RSS’s public and political presence, and it gained increasing popularity and political ground in the mainstream from the mid-1970s onwards. Part of its strategy of expansion has been the creation of smaller affiliate organisations, geared towards specialised tasks. This conglomerate of far-right organisations headed by the RSS has come to be known as the Sangh Parivar (Family). The current ruling party in India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the electoral wing of the RSS, and many of its members (including Prime Minister Narendra Modi) started out as swayamsevaks in the RSS before joining the BJP.

Host and Producer: Maria Bach (Centre Walras-Pareto, University of Lausanne) Based on almost 2 years of interviews with current and former PhD students, supervisors along with lots and lots of conversations on supervision, I offer you a series of episodes on supervision. In the first episode, I explore a series of critical “don’ts” that both PhD students and their supervisors should be aware of to ensure a healthier, more productive PhD journey. In the following episode, I offer up lots of solutions or rather the dos of supervision. Then there will be an episode on all the cases where it’s not clear what the best solution is, or the solution is rather different depending on context: I am calling them the in-betweens. In a fourth episode I will be talking to a sort of PhD coach, who has lots of experience with supervising and thinking about supervision. In this final short episode I offer a list of 10 key things that supervisors and PhD students need – the 10 commandments of supervision, if you will. The 10 Commandments of Supervision Use a reference manager Organise notes on reference Establish a healthy work schedule Meet regularly and take meeting notes Set deadlines Listen to each other Ask lots of questions Support and empathy PhD students should present and learn to communicate early on Build a community The voice at the end is Pedro G. Duarte (Insper), featured in several of the other parts of the series. Featured music (apart from the usual intro and outro music): Education – upbeat positive (short ver.), Awakening (loop ver.3) and Dreamy Day (loop ver.2) by AudioCoffee: https://freesound.org/s/712212/ License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 To check out Mamma Mu, the children’s books I mention at the end, go here.

Guests: Erwin Dekker (George Mason University), Charles Rose (PhD from King’s College London), Carlos Eduardo Suprinyak (The American University of Paris), Pedro G. Duarte (Insper), Ariane Dupont Kieffer (Université Paris 1), Luca Timponelli (Centre Walras Pareto, Unil), María Gutiérrez Ruan (Centre Walras Pareto, Unil), Elizaveta Burina (Université Paris 1), Léa Lakjaa (Université de Reims), Adèle Gaillard, (PHARE, Université Panthéon Sorbonne), Steven Medema (Duke University), Marianne Johnson (University of Wisconsin Oshkosh) Host and Producer: Maria Bach (Centre Walras-Pareto, University of Lausanne) Based on almost 2 years of interviews with current and former PhD students, supervisors along with lots and lots of conversations on supervision, I offer you a series of episodes on supervision. In the first episode, I explore a series of critical “don’ts” that both PhD students and their supervisors should be aware of to ensure a healthier, more productive PhD journey. In this second episode, I offer up lots of solutions or rather the dos of supervision. Then there will be an episode on all the cases where it’s not clear what the best solution is, or the solution is rather different depending on context: I am calling them the in-betweens. In a fourth episode I will be talking to a sort of PhD coach, who has lots of experience with supervising and thinking about supervision. A final short episode will offer us a list of 10 key things that supervisors and PhD students need – the 10 commandments of supervision, if you will. The Dos of Supervision Establishing Basic Foundations of Support Building Trust and Structure Supporting Intellectual Growth and Independence Tools and Organization for Success Advanced Guidance on Research and Focus Dealing with Challenges and Growth in the Process Ongoing Support Building a Sense of Belonging and Integration Dealing with Tough Situations and Navigating Change Featured music (apart from the usual intro and outro music): Awakening (loop ver.3) by AudioCoffee — https://freesound.org/s/762743/ — License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

Check out this trailer for a miniseries on supervision coming very soon! The voices featured in the trailer are Charles Rose, Pedro Garcia Duarte and Bianca Maria Fontana. Stay tuned for more thoughts, discussions and insightful voices! Featured music (apart from the usual intro and outro music): Bright Morning Energy by LolaMoore License: Attribution 4.0

Guests: Rahul A. Sirohi (Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati) and Sonya Surabhi Gupta (Jamia Milia Islamia) Host and Producer: Maria Bach (Walras Pareto Centre, University of Lausanne) In this episode, I talk to professors Sirohi’s and Gupta’s book on development discourses from India and Latin America. As mentioned in the episode, here is the poem translated at the beginning of the last chapter: Problems of Underdevelopment Monsieur Dupont calls you unculturedbecause you cannot tell who wasVictor’s Hugo’s favourite grandson.Herr Müller has started to screambecause you do not know (exactly)the day that Bismarck died.Your friend Mr. Smithan Englishman or Yankee, I cannot tell,becomes incensed when you write Shell.(It seems you leave out an “l”and, what’s more, you pronounce it chel.)Okay, and what of it?When it’s your turn,make them say cacarajícaraand ask them where is the Aconcaguaand who was Sucréand just where on this planetdid Martí die.And please:tell them to always speak to you in Spanish. Nicolás Guillén  Trans. by Rahul Sirohi and Sonya Surabhi Gupta

Guest: Eric Helleiner (University of Waterloo) Host and Producer: Maria Bach (University of Lausanne) In this episode, Maria interviews Eric Helleiner to discuss his current research on writing a deeper global history of the field of International Political Economy. We mainly discuss his latest two books pictured above, The Contested World Economy and The Neomercantilists.

Guest: Cecilia Lanata-Briones (Warwick University) Host and Producer: Maria Bach (Walras Pareto Centre, University of Lausanne) Bunge, A. E. (1918): «Costo de la vida en la Argentina, de 1910 a 1917». Revista de Economía Argentina 1 (1), pp. 39-63 In this episode, Maria talks to her co-author and team member of a new project on the history of national accounting in what we call the Global South today. Cecilia talks about her thesis on the history of the cost-of-living index in Argentina, a recent co-edited book and our new project. To check out some of Cecilia’s work, see two of her articles linked below: Lanata-Briones, C.T. (2021) ‘Constructing Cost of Living Indexes Ideas and Individuals, Argentina, 1918–35’, History of Political Economy, 53(1), pp. 57–87. Lanata-Briones CT. (2023) ‘RECONSTRUCTING OFFICIAL STATISTICS: A NEW ESTIMATE OF THE ARGENTINE COST OF LIVING INDEX‘, 1912-1943. Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History. 41(1):39-82.

Guests: Cléo Chassonnery-Zaïgouche (Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Bologna), Justine Loulergue (PhD Student, Centre d’Économie de la Sorbonne, Paris 1 & Centre Walras Pareto, Unil), María Gutiérrez Ruan (PhD Student, Centre Walras Pareto, Unil), Tatiana Fauconnet (PhD Student, Centre Walras Pareto, Unil) and Biancamaria Fontana (Emeritus Professor, Centre Walras Pareto, Unil) Host and Producer: Maria Bach (Centre Walras-Pareto, University of Lausanne) We’re back with a second episode with existing and former members of the Walras Pareto Centre. If you didn’t listen to part I, I recommend listening to part I first. This time we will hear about what they like and dislike about their work. And about any regrets they may have about their choices or trajectories. If you want to join an online writing group on Thursdays at 10.15-12.15 CEST, contact Maria Bach via Twitter or email. Featured music (apart from the usual intro and outro music): Loop of Life – V01 by RAME (RAMEofficial.com) via FreeSound (freesound.org/people/RokZRooM) under Creative Commons’ BY-NC-ND license.

Guests: Cléo Chassonnery-Zaïgouche (Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Bologna), Justine Loulergue (PhD Student, Centre d’Économie de la Sorbonne, Paris 1 & Centre Walras Pareto, Unil), María Gutiérrez Ruan (PhD Student, Centre Walras Pareto, Unil), Tatiana Fauconnet (PhD Student, Centre Walras Pareto, Unil) and Biancamaria Fontana (Emeritus Professor, Centre Walras Pareto, Unil) Host and Producer: Maria Bach (Centre Walras-Pareto, University of Lausanne) In this episode, I share some conversations I had with some existing and old members of the Walras Pareto Centre (CWP) in Lausanne. These are raw conversations from researchers in the history of economics and political science that may help you feel less alone and might just help you figure some things out. Who knows? Featured music (apart from the usual intro and outro music): Loop of Life – V01 by RAME (RAMEofficial.com) via FreeSound (freesound.org/people/RokZRooM) under Creative Commons’ BY-NC-ND license.

Guest: Cléo Chassonnery-Zaïgouche (Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Bologna) Host and Producer: Maria Bach (Centre Walras-Pareto, University of Lausanne) In this episode, I invited Cléo Chassonnery-Zaïgouche to talk about her new book project on the history of discrimination in economics, partly based on her PhD thesis. If you’re interested in her work, check out her website here. Featured music (apart from the usual intro and outro music): Sound by Alyonka.

Guests: Erik Bengtsson (Lund University), Pat Hudson (Cardiff University) and Keith Tribe (Tartu University) Host and Producer: Maria Bach (Centre Walras-Pareto, University of Lausanne) Erik Bengtsson, an economic historian of Sweden, refers to this cartoon which depicts the parliament in session when an invisible hand writes “General Strike” on the board published in a national newspaper, Söndags Nisse in 1906. Taken from Fredrik Ström’s Arbetets söner: text och bilder ur den svenska arbetarrörelsens saga. Third Edition. Steinsviks bokförlag AB, 1959. As we heard in part one of our series on inequality, researchers looking at inequality urge people to look more on the micro level because the trends and causes are not universal across time and space. So in this second part, we look at why and how inequality goes up and down depending on where you look. All the examples you will hear, in some way, critique and build upon Thomas Piketty’s comparative approach. We will hear from Erik Bengtsson, who studies the trends of inequality in Sweden. To check out Erik’s work, click here. We will also hear from Keith Tribe and his co-editor Pat Hudson talk about their collected work called The Contradictions of Capital in the 21st century in which they build upon the renewed interest in the long run global development of wealth inequality stimulated by the publication of Piketty’s book Capital in the 21st Century. To watch the TED talk video on inequality featured at the beginning, go here. Featured music (apart from the usual intro and outro music): Sounds by Dave JF, Atmosphere 12, and Jordan Powell, Erokia. Finally, thanks to David Philippy for helping with production.

Guests: James Heckman, Esther-Mirjam Sent, Philip Hans Franses and Erwin Dekker Hosted by Reinhard Schumacher and Arjo Klamer In this episode we present a book panel on the book Jan Tinbergen (1903-1994) and the Rise of Economic Expertise (CUP, 2021) by our regular host Erwin Dekker. Reinhard Schumacher provides a brief introduction to the panel which is chaired by Arjo Klamer, Professor of Cultural Economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. The panel opens with reflections on the book and the legacy of Jan Tinbergen, the first Nobel Prize winner in Economics and famous econometrician, by another Nobel Laureate James Heckman, Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. The other panelists offer their reflections on the econometric and economic contributions of Tinbergen, and in particular his role as broker between academia and policy circles, a main argument of the book is that Tinbergen secured a permanent place for economic experts and models in policy circles. They also explore Tinbergen’s socialist convictions, his internationalism and dedication to peace, as well as his and their personal motivations to be an economist.