When

Monday March 3, 2014 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EST 6:00: Doors Open
6:30 Program Begins
7:30 Reception

Where

The Great Hall, Cooper Union 
7 East 7th Street
New York, NY 10003  
View Map

Contact

Laura Freschi 
Managing Director and Research Scholar
NYU Development Research Institute 
212-992-7491
dri@nyu.edu

 

Lecture and Book Launch | The Tyranny of Experts: Economists, Dictators, and the Forgotten Rights of the Poor 

Featuring William Easterly, NYU Professor of Economics and Director, Development Research Institute

With an introduction from Paul Romer, NYU University Professor

“No one who starts this book will be able to put it down, or be able to undo its influence on her thinking about the deep determinants of development progress.” 
– Nancy Birdsall

“Another striking and original success.” 
– Tyler Cowen

“Tells the extraordinary story of authoritarian development.” 
– Angus Deaton

Global poverty has largely been viewed as a technical problem that merely requires the right expert solutions.Yet all too often, experts recommend solutions that fix immediate problems while ignoring the political oppression that created them in the first place, accidentally colluding with autocrats who violate the rights of the poor.  The Tyranny of Experts traces the history of the fight against global poverty, showing how development has long suppressed the vital debate on the individual rights of people in developing countries, the crucial debate on whether unchecked power for dictators is the problem and not the solution.

This event is co-sponsored by the Institute for Public Knowledge and NYU Africa House. Funding is generously provided by The John Templeton Foundation and the Thomas Smith Foundation.