Productivity challenges in a volatile world: a workshop in honour of Nicholas Crafts

18 March 2024, 09:45-16:30.
G30 Jubilee Building, University of Sussex or join us online.

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    *Participation is free, however the maximum amount of in-person attendants is set to 40. In order to reserve a place, please register using the form below.

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Join us for this workshop in memory of Professor Nicholas Crafts CBE and his contributions to the study of productivity growth in the UK and the world. The workshop will look at productivity growth and its challenges both from historical and contemporary perspectives. It aims to address key public policy challenges in the realm of productivity growth. Our workshop is for academics in the fields of economic history, economic growth, and productivity analysis. We also aim to address policymakers from the civil service working in this area.

Agenda

9:45-10:00 Arrival / Refreshments

10:00-10:15
Welcome

Shqiponja Telhaj (University of Sussex, Director CeSWIG)

10:15-11:15 Tribute to Nicholas Crafts

Chair: Sambit Bhattacharyya (University of Sussex)

Steve Broadberry (University of Oxford) –  Studying and working with Nick Crafts
Jagjit Chadha (National Institute of Economic and Social Research) – Weighing the past, to assess the future (pre-recorded video)

Tim Leunig (London School of Economics and Political Sciences) – Nick Crafts as a teacher practitioner
Tony Venables (University of Oxford) – Addressing the big questions (remote presentation)

11:15-11:30 Discussion

11:30-11:45 Coffee break

11:45-13:15 Long run productivity and living standards

Chair: Adrien Montalbo (University of Sussex)

Alexander Klein (University of Kent) - Convergence in manufacturing productivity across US states: what the long-run data show
Bishnupriya Gupta (University of Warwick and CAGE Research Centre) – Sectoral productivity and structural change in India in a comparative perspective
Bridget Kauma (University of Sussex) - Regional productivity differences in the UK and France: from the micro to the macro

13:15-14:00 Lunch

14:00-15:30 Productivity challenges past and present: what can we learn from history?

Chair: Andy Newell (University of Sussex)

Adrien Montalbo (University of Sussex) - Education, productivity and economic growth in nineteenth-century France
Joan Roses (London School of Economics and Political Sciences) - Technology adoption in cotton textiles before the Cotton Famine: Catching up with the British leadership
Patrick Wallis (London School of Economics and Political Sciences) - Smithian growth before the Industrial Revolution

15:30 Closing

Sambit Bhattacharyya (University of Sussex)