17 November 2011

'The Current British Economic Crisis in Historical Perspective' - public lecture on Wednesday, 23rd November

The role of the UK's financial sector will be re-evaluated and the relationship between the City and Westminster explored at a public lecture next week which examines the historical context of the present-day economic turmoil.

Professor Jim Tomlinson, one of the country’s foremost economic historians, will discuss ‘The Current British Economic Crisis in Historical Perspective’ at the D’Arcy Thompson Lecture Theatre, University of Dundee on Wednesday, 23rd November.

Professor Tomlinson, who is based at Dundee, will be delivering the third of ten lectures taking place as part of the Arts & Humanities Research Institute (AHRI) Lecture Series 2011/12.

He will argue that, while recessions are recurrent and share many similar features, crises are more individual and are caused by a unique range of factors. It will examine the historical development of three key features of the current crisis - the origins in a speculative bubble in the financial sector, the links to the inadequate regulation of finance, and the key role of housing policy.

Professor Tomlinson will further contend that examining these factors against previous crises shows that policies to expand home ownership in Britain have led to a dangerous entanglement between national economic fortunes and the behaviour of the housing market.

'Both major British political parties have, for different reasons, committed themselves to a ‘property-owning democracy’, focussed on spreading home ownership, but this has had unintended consequences,' he said.

'Persistently rising house prices have meant the growth of the economy has become heavily dependent upon ‘equity withdrawal’, where home owners consume more on the back of the rising value of their properties. This has distorted the economy in a number of ways, but is also very difficult to correct by public policy, especially in recession when governments are desperate for growth.'

The AHRI is based within the School of Humanities at Dundee, and serves as a forum for research across the School’s principal disciplines of English literature and creative writing, history, philosophy and aesthetics.

The lecture series will showcase the range of groundbreaking humanities research taking place across the country, and see eminent academics from Dundee deliver the lecture programme, alongside colleagues from other UK universities, including Oxford, King’s College London, and Queen Mary, University of London.

'We have put together an exciting programme of lectures which demonstrate the breadth, vibrancy and relevance of the disciplines which constitute the Humanities and illustrate why they play an essential role in our cultural, social and economic life,' said Professor Nicholas Davey, Dean of the School of Humanities at Dundee.

'It is vital that the School of Humanities shares its research with the communities that support us, whether they be academics we cooperate with, schools and colleges we recruit from, or interest groups with which we share common concerns. We would encourage anyone with an interest in the Humanities to engage with the series.'

Professor Tomlinson’s talk, ‘The Current British Economic Crisis in Historical Perspective’, takes place at the D’Arcy Thompson Lecture Theatre at 6pm on Wednesday, 23rd November. Entry is free and open to all.

Notes to editors:

The programme for the AHRI Lecture Series 2011/12 is as follows:

• 23rd November 2011 - Professor Jim Tomlinson: ‘The Current British Economic Crisis in Historical Perspective’
• 30th November 2011 - Professor Peter Kitson: ‘"Kind Hearts and Kowtows": British Cultural Encounters with China in the Romantic Period’
• 7th December 2011 - Professor Nicholas Davey: ‘Should the Humanities be Taught at University?’
• 29th February 2012 - Professor Sir Adam Roberts: ‘The Public Value of the Humanities’
• 7th March 2012 - Professor Mary Margaret McCabe: ‘Transformative Goods: Plato and the Modern Academy’
• 9th May 2012 - Professor Marina Warner: ‘The Reason of Myth: Why Literature Matters’
• 16 May 2012 - Professor Michael Kenny: ‘The History of Political Thinking in Universities’

More information is available by visiting www.dundee.ac.uk/humanities/artsandhumanitiesresearchinstitute.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
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E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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