Dear Constantine:

I think the future of democracy, which suffers increasing internal and external pressures nowadays, as well as the related economic issues of economic stress and higher inequality, are topics to take into account.

Dear Constantine

Firstly, how can we stop capital's invasion of all areas of social life? This question then boils down to how - in each area, education, health, economy - can we stop the advance of capital. This demands a politcs of resistance to the development of capital. I have written on this in 'Education Crisis As Crises For Capital', which you can get at: Presentation Education Crises As Crises For Capital

Secondly, and this is important as answers to the first question will not work unless this point is addressed; how can we build alternative institutions that seek to evade and avoid the claws of capital? What type of institutions can they be? Examples from contemorarysociety and history can be examined, as well as imaginative plans for institutions that have not been tried yet. Again, this will mean struggles against capital and its states, setting free imagination, and a keeness for forging new social relations.

Time is running out for answering these questions. Climate change and the breakdown of capitalist society are the foundations for this urgency.

Glenn Rikowski

Dear Constantine:

I agree with what I understand to be the premise of your student's question that a single discipline won't be able to pose and provide answers to the most critical challenges in the 21st century. It's an interdisciplinary effort. I also agree with the previous comments of colleagues here on what I understand is the relationship between democracy and capitalism and the effects on all spheres of life. Having said that, I see the questions concerning inequality (economic, social, political, cultural) as the most critical. To me, these critical questions go beyond just human rights agenda, as it does not provide us with answers to many important political questions, and it would be important to also consider questions about democratic political process.

inequality, inequality, inequality!

Dear Constantine, I think the most pressing research question at this very moment is the environmental one. It looks like climate is deteriorating at a fast (faster than expected) rate. I think this require intervention and it will be a tough challenge. Science and economics have to partake the challenge. The USA government took a different direction recently and this will imply that private actors, more than governments, will have to tackle this challenge in the future. The second most important question for economists concerns inequality, which is growing and there are no good receipts around in this respect. Of course State interventiontion and taxation, but in most recent politica elections all around the world we have been moving in the opposite direction. The majority of people do not want high taxation and so it is very difficult to contrast the spread of inequality through taxation. Third most important theme, I would say, is an old one, that is imporvement of participation and working conditions for workers. This is a very old theme, but extremely difficult, since many attempts have been made in the past, but results overall have been quite poor, even if not completely negligible. Then there are many other questions, usually much more standard than the one I put forward, such as technology and innovation. There are much better experts about this than myself. Finally, of course, we have to pay attention that the European Union does not disintegrate. Quite tough challenge also this one. Each new political election in European countries the risk that the EU is challenged and may collapse is real, and maybe growing. What to say about the Euro...., may disintegrate in the near future, but hopefully not.

(1) Environment and climate change; (2) Inequality; (3) Working conditions and worker participation; (4) (Dis)integration of the European Union and the Euro.

Climate change and the international tense situation in Syria, Ukraine, North Korea and Iran.

Dear Constantine,

One of the pressing issue is the financialization of the world economy, leading to greater wealth and greater inequality. What constraints should governments put on the financial sector and what policies should be enacted to ensure economic security for all.

Economic systems are controlled by finance, so financialization unluckily is unavoidable. Governments can regulate a bit more, things can be improved a bit more, no doubt about this, but at the substantive level I fear there is almost nothing we can do, since finance is more and more controlling the greatest part of real economic activities.

This is an interesting thread OK

I was part of the group that produced the International Panel for Social Progress report just out. This is not the definitive word but I commend it you as a product of a wide ranging group of economists and social scientists. See if it gives you some ideas.Here is the executive summary:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ydnqyr9diz55pes/Executive%20Summary%202018%20Report%20v2%20with%20titlepage.pdf

Thank you very much, Ermanno

Dear Professor Iliopoulos,

Food Security is a serious issue, especially for the developing countries, since their food supply chain has to face challenges as low irrigation efficiency, varying food perceptions and food trade protectionism of developed countries.

Dear Professor Iliopoulos,

I'd be inclined to suggest Climate Change and Energy generation as key concerns, specifically looking at the distributional effects of policy interventions in these areas as well as the instability caused when resource-dependent economies slowly start to run out of the resource their economy is based on.

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Thank you all for your valuable insights and suggestions. I am sure that my student will have now a lot to work on and contribute in the future.

Kindest Regards,

Constantine Iliopoulos

PS. Of course, any additional inspiration and suggestions will be highly appreciated at any time,

Dear Constantine,

I like very much the way you ask your question: "…economists and other social scientists…". I understand that, to answer this question, I have to posit that economist are social scientists. Well…

Here is why I like this point: economics has social impact. This can be easily seen in the way organizations are managed. But now, more and more is said about traditional/rational economic view to criticize its pure financial aim. A good example of this is the questioning about CSR and environmental and social (societal) accounting. More, there is a debate on whether this accounting should be a triple bottom line or a triple amortization-line accounting. In one of these, all finally ends in money and contributes to the financialization of the economy. But this is not a fatality and these accounts might well not be fungible. If it comes, the economy might be de-financialized. And, dear @Ermanno, such a path is possible…

Hopefully, should I say, or else any of the five points should be read through financial lenses and any of the “top-five” questions we could address would be addressed under the law of finance.

This long development to make a proposition: maybe the first question we have to address is this: to what extent economy drives the word and to what extent finance drives economy… and finally, what are the rooms for other topics?

I prefer to start from production, not finance. Financialization, provided it is real, is a distortion, but eventually the economy needs to be explained in terms of production. I am not sympathetic towards the domination of finance, even if I understand that financialization is out there.

How will accountants develop optimally Double Entry Bookkeeping and Rules of debit and credit (as great heritage in accounting) to solve modern world challenges?

Hello Costa,

This is a very interesting question. I have read, lately, a few articles in the Economist dealing with such issues as how technology has reduced transaction costs enabling large firms to become larger thus stifling competition and causing frustration to people and nations. Another issue, not necessarily unrelated to the aforementioned, is the rise of populist political parties in several countries around the globe reflecting a general feeling of people's discomfort towards the results of the last credit-financial and subsequent economic crisis. Although globalization and financial and economic integration have many positive aspects such as the significant reduction of poverty globally (people leaving on less than 2$ a day have declined below 10% compared to 35% of global population in 1985) we see recently the rise of political tentions resulting in increasing trade barriers that affect mostly the poor. This current big picture of the global economic and political situation may offer insights for interesting research questions to social scientists.

How increase the reduction and sharing of work hours so that everyone has access to work? How reduce income and capital access inequalities?