Nova SBE, through the Nova Economics Club and Nova SBE Students’ Union, promoted two weeks ago, at the Carcavelos Campus, the fifth edition of Economia Viva.
Economia Viva is the biggest conference cycle about Economics, entirely organized students in Portugal. It takes place annually since 2016, throughout one week, and academia, specialists from different sectors, politicians, and students, discuss at least a relevant national and international topic daily.
The event aims to foster critical economic thinking and promote a healthy debate among students, providing a supplement to their academic curricula.
In this edition, a few of the most pressing issues of nowadays were discussed. Namely:
· Nudging: How Behavioural Economics Can Shape Public Policy – February 3
· Growing Green in Europe – February 4
· Can a Euro Area Budget Stabilize the Eurozone? – February 5
· Serão os Marcados Laborais Autorregulados Eficientes – February 6
· Portuguese Football: A case of Economic Success– February 6
· The Future of the Global Value Chain – February 7
· Estará a Banca Nacional Preparada para uma Nova Crise? – February 8
The conference has several renowned guests, among which were Manuel Caldeira Cabral, former Portuguese Minister of Economy, Maximilian Freier, Economist at European Central Bank, Fernando Faria de Oliveira, President of the Portuguese Bank Association, and Philipp Schepelmann, Project Coordinator of Wuppertal Institute, among others.
The first day of Economia Viva was dedicated to the subject “Nudging: How Behavioural Economics Can Shape Public Policy.” The first session of the day had Alexander Coutts, Professor at Nova SBE, Bibi Groot, Director and Head of Educational Policy da CLOO, Diogo Gonçalves, Founder da Nudge Portugal, and Sandra Maximiano, Professor at ISEG as special participants.
The second day was entirely dedicated to “Growing Green in Europe.” The first session had Angela Morgado, Executive Director of ANP/WWF, Clara Costa Duarte, Professor at Nova SBE, Philipp Schepelmann, Project CoordinatorCoordinator at Wuppertal Institute, Miguel Araújo, Professor at Universidade de Évora, and Paulo da Silva Lemos, Policy Officer of DG ENV at the European Commission.
The conference’s third day had its spotlight on Maximillian Freier, Economist at the European Central Bank, Pedro Duarte Neves, former Vice-President of Banco de Portugal, and Francisco
Franco, Professor at Nova SBE and member of the Nova SBE Economics for Policy Knowledge Center discussing “Can a Euro Area Budget Stabilize the Eurozone.”
The conference’s fourth day was dedicated to “Serão os Mercados Laborais Autorregulados Eficientes?”. The day has as its main guest speakers Ana Filipa Fernandes, GPEARI at the Portuguese Ministry of Finance, Daniel Fortuna do Couto, Vice-President of the National Board of the Architects Bar, and Rui Manuel Leão Martinho, President of the Economist Bar.
The conference’s fifth-day opening was up to Enrique Galán, Executive Director of the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank, Rodolfo Lavrador, former President of the Portugal-US Chamber of Commerce, Paulo Portas, Professor at Nova SBE, and João Amador, Associate Director at Banco de Portugal to talk about “The Future of the Global Value Chain.”
The conference’s last day discussed the subject “Estará a Banca Nacional Preparada para
uma Nova Crise”, and had as guest speakers Fernando Faria de Oliveira, President of the Portuguese Bank Association, Manuel Caldeira Cabral, former Portuguese Minister of Economy, Ana Paula
Serra, Director at Banco de Portugal, and Samuel Lopes, from the European Banking Authority.
Francisco Tavares, President of the Nova SBE Students’ Union mentioned that “Economia Viva is the proof that this generation wants to contribute to the discussion of the biggest challenges of our times.”
Daniel Traça, Dean of Nova SBE, highlighted that “this school’s biggest richness is its students. The biggest tool and ability to make its students grow is for Nova SBE to give them space and freedom to carry out their projects, and Economia Viva is the living proof of that. This is the Nova SBE we want to build. We want to debate pressing issues and find meaningful solutions for the future.”
Daniel Traça also stated that “I have to register the profundity of ideas that were debated, which are certainly relevant, not only for Portugal but for the world. It is important that, aside from the knowledge that students acquire in college, they also have contact with institutions and society’s debatable issues, which define the present but also a future that is ours but also theirs.”