Nicholas Stern
Nicholas Stern is currently a chief economist of
the world bank. He inspires me further on the road of Schumpeterian
economics. It's really strange how I come into contact with him. I've
been working with the world bank on several development projects,
and seem to become their contact for youth issue. One day, I've received
an email from the bank saying that Stern is coming and he would like
to meet the university students, especially in economics.
So I've organized his visit for a small discussion
on development at the faculty of economics, Thammasat university in
Bangkok. I didn't know too much about him at that time. After he gave
a talk, it is very much about how we should empower at entrepreneurship
in all levels and build the investment climate properly for the entrepreneurial
development as the building block of social liberty and well-being.
I've identified immediately the Schumpterian tone of that kind of
thought. I've told him my aspiration and ideas on using entrepreneurship
in building sustainable development.
He told us, the students, that in order to be a
good economist, we should "get our feet dirty" i.e. go out
and do something real, whether research or come up with projects.
Before he had left, he gave me a book of his called "a strategy
for development". I've read it and understood that he is at the
influence of Schumpeter and Sen on development like I do. I was very
delighted to learn that the chief economist of the world bank is actually
not a neo-classical, and even more, somewhat schumpeterian!
Again, he inspires me in practical sense, we was
a kind of person who really want to see real improvement in the life
of people around the world, one could see that from the fact that
he went for a development project in India when he was so young and
develop his on thought on the subject. He has made his way up to become
the chief economist of the world bank with great influence on the
bank's policy. He was able to integrated schumpterian idea into the
policy of the most influencial economic authority in the world. He
is a good role model for any economist!
His contribution to my thought is on how to actually
build the investment climate for the cultivation of entrepreneurship
in development. It's like reading an updated-version of Schumpeter
for early 21st century. I hope very much that I could work with him
on promoting this idea of Schumpterian entrepreneurial development
in building the open society. It is clear for the first time for me
after reading his small book, how his insight of creating proper investment
climate and empowering the entrepreneurs to create my version of Popperian
open soceity. In a way, a short meeting with him has changed the course
of my life in a sense that it ensured me that my thought is quite
valid and can be applied to the real world of international political
economy.
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