In September 2008, the American bank Lehman Brothers fell. This bankruptcy marked the beginning of the most devastating financial crisis that the world has ever seen. The crisis affected the whole world and profoundly changed the way people looked at economics as a science. People started discussing the causes and effects of the financial meltdown around the globe, including at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Amsterdam.

A group of students, led by Maurits Kruithof, started Room for Discussion as a means to facilitate this discussion, and to bridge the gap between economic news and economics as a science. Since then, Room for Discussion has organised weekly hour-long interviews about economic topics. In the central hall of the Faculty of Economics and Business, leading economists, politicians and entrepreneurs sit down on our Chesterfields to discuss recent events, politics and economics. By combining a journalistic approach with scientific rigour, Room for Discussion connects the world of academia with reality.

In the past, Room for Discussion has had the honour of receiving a variety of guests including Christine Lagarde, Mario Draghi, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Frans Timmermans, Larry Summers and Thomas Piketty

The interviews of Room for Discussion take place in the ‘living room’ in the E-building at the Roeterseilandcomplex of the University of Amsterdam. It is possible to watch the interviews live via a livestream, or to view them on our Youtube page.

Room for Discussion

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