PROFILES

Ann Pettifor
ann_pettiforAnn is a Director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME); Honorary Research Fellow at the Political Economy Research Centre at City University (CITYPERC); a fellow of the New Economics Foundation, London; and Executive Director Advocacy International, which advises governments and organisations on matters relating to international finance and sustainable development.
Ann has also been a recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Newcastle (2000) and the Pax Christi International Peace Prize. In 2003 President Obama honoured her work on behalf of African governments by bestowing the Order of the Niger on her. She was also one of the leaders of the Jubilee 2000 debt campaign which succeeded in writing off $100 billion of debt (in nominal terms) owed by 35 of the world’s poorest countries, and is best known for correctly predicting the global financial crisis in several publications, including: “Coming soon: The new poor” (2003), and “The coming first world debt crises” (2006).
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Polly Toynbee and David Walker

polly and davidPolly Toynbee is a prominent English journalist and writer, and has written for The Guardian newspaper since 1998. She has also held senior editorial positions at The Independent and The BBC, where she was social affairs editor from 1988-1995. She is also professionally involved with the Social Policy Association, where she is President; Brighton Festival, where she is chair; and the Fabian Society, where she is deputy treasurer; as well as being Vice President of the British Humanist Association (formerly President). Polly has been honored by several academic institutions, receiving three honorary doctorates from The Open University, the University of Leeds, and London Southbank University, as well as an Honorary Degree from the University of Essex. Polly also won the Orwell Prize for journalism in 1988, and was named ‘Columnist of the Year’ at the 2007 British Press Awards.

David Walker is a journalist, broadcaster and author, and has written for The Guardian, The Independent, The Times, and The Economist, specialising in UK domestic policy and administration. He is a council member at the Economic and Social Research Council, where he also chairs the communications and information committee; a non-executive director of the National Centre for Social Research; a visiting professor at City University London and the University of Birmingham; and is  an honorary member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. He is also a trustee of the Nuffield Trust and the Franco British Council.

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David Graeber

david_graeberDavid Graeber is an American anthropologist, activist, author and teacher at the London School of Economics. Formerly at Yale and Goldsmiths, he is heavily involved in political and economic activism, such as the Occupy Wall Street movement. Graeber is a self-described anarchist, having been heavily involved in protests against the World Economic Forum in New York City, and the 3rd Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. He is also a widely-respected academic, described by Maurice Bloch as “the best anthropological theorist of his generation from anywhere in the world”, and an expert on the anthropology of Madagascar, having written his dissertation on magic, slavery, and politics on the island. An acclaimed writer, Graeber has authored the highly successful “Debt: The First 5,000 Years”; “The Democracy Project”, which discusses the Occupy Wall Street Movement; and “The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy”; among many others. He is currently Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics.

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Ha-Joon Chang

HaJoonHa-Joon Chang is one of the world’s leading heterodox economists, and is currently a Reader in the Political Economy of Development at the University of Cambridge. His books, including “23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism” and “Economics: A User’s Guide” have been extremely influential on both the general public and policy-makers, leading Prospect Magazine to name Chang as one of the top 20 World Thinkers in 2013. He has served as a consultant to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, Oxfam, and various United Nations agencies. He also serves on the advisory board of Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP) and is a fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research in Washington D.C.

Chang was born and raised in South Korea, studying at Seoul National University and later at the University of Cambridge for his PhD. His work has focussed largely on industrial policy and development. He has been a strong critic of the IMF, the World Trade Organisation and the World Bank, arguing that their policies around the world do more to hinder countries undergoing development than to help them, policies he describes as “ladder-kicking”.

He is also a stringent critic of neo-liberal “free-market” economic theory that exerts such a strong influence on governments around the world, and has argued that state interventionism is often much more successful in fostering development then deregulation and privatisation, policies often forced onto developing countries. His arguments have won praise from many other economists, including Nobel Prize-winner Joseph Stiglitz.

Buy Economics: The User’s Guide, 23 Things they don’t tell you about Capitalism, Bad Samaritans Now

Jacky Davis and John Lister

JackyDavis_JohnLister_logoDr Jacky Davis is a consultant radiologist at in North London. She co-edited NHS SOS and is a member of the BMA UK Council.

John Lister is a journalist by trade who has worked 31 years as Information director of London Health Emergency, with a brief to fight cuts, closures and privatisation. In 2004 he was awarded a doctorate in global health policy and “marketisation” of health care. He has written extensively about the NHS and authored books on international health policies, the NHS and health journalism, teaches at MSc level in Coventry University’s Faculty of Health & Life Sciences. He also works as a consultant researcher for health unions and for campaigners.

Buy “NHS For Sale – Myths, Lies & Deception” Now

Steven Overman

StevenOvermanSteven Overman has built his career as a pioneer at the intersection of major social shifts, media communication, and technology innovation for more than two decades.With this insight, his new book “The Conscience Economy” looks closely at a social movement for good that has been shifting from the margins to the mainstream and will result in an unprecedented disruption of the global marketplace. Increasingly, people around the world from New York to New Delhi, are making everyday choices in ways that defy traditional logic. They are specnding their money and their time forming loyalites, csasting votes, and even enjoying entertainment based increasingly uppon ghteir desitre to make a postive impact. This new generation of consumers believes they can and must make the world better, and they are increasingly expecting tht business and goverment will follow. Steven Overman advises both leading brands and tech startups and is a frequent speaker at technology industry events.

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Linda Kaucher

Linda_Kaucher_logoLinda Kaucher has 15 years experience of researching the EU’s so-called ‘trade’ agreements, of which TTIP (US/EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership  is now the main focus. She works to expose and oppose the EU’s secretive ‘trade’ agenda. Linda is also a member of StopTTIPuk,  part of a Europe-wide campaign run by a coalition of over 500 European organizations that currently has over 3 million signatures supporting its campaign.

Listen to Linda here: Keiser Report: Guest Linda Kaucher on stopping corrupt trade deals (08Feb14)