The University College Dublin Economics Society is a university society, at University College Dublin (UCD) in Ireland, which "promotes engagement with economics".[1] The society, in its current form, was founded in 2014.[2]

History

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The society was first established in 1911 as the Legal & Economic Society.[2] The politician and professor, J.G. Swift MacNeill, gave the inaugural address. Other founding members included Thomas Kettle and Arthur Cox.[2] In the 1930s, the Legal and Economic society split into the UCD Law Society. The Economic Society was founded again in 1968, but later disbanded. The society was re-established in early 2014.[2]

Events

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Professor Gregory O'Hare of UCD Earth Institute delivers the opening address at Thinking Big 2014

The society hosts a number of events, including an annual ball.[1]

In 2013 and 2014, the society hosted the "Thinking Big" conference.[3] This two-day conference started in 2013.[4][5] The 2014 event sought to deal with "subjects affecting the world today" and included discussions on drug policy in Ireland, third world health care, and the corporate tax rate in Ireland.[6] Speakers at the 2014 event included Lucinda Creighton and Vince Cunningham.[7]

Guests who have spoken at society events have included politicians such as Eamon Ryan and Simon Harris,[8] as well as economists like Dambisa Moyo and Jeffrey Sachs.[citation needed] Other speakers to have addressed the society have included governor of the Irish Central Bank Patrick Honohan,[9] and economists David McWilliams[10] and Morgan Kelly.[11][12]

Award

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The society issues an award, the Thomas Kettle Award, to individuals who have made an "outstanding contribution to the field of economics and public policy".[1] The award is named in honor of Thomas Kettle (1880–1916) who was the first Professor of National Economics at UCD and one of the founders of the Legal and Economics Society.[1] Previous recipients of the award include economist Joseph Stiglitz,[13] academic Jeffrey Sachs, journalist David McWilliams, activist Bob Geldof, businessman Peter Sutherland and politician TK Whitaker.[13][14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "UCD Economics Society". societies.ucd.ie. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "About Us". economicssociety.ie. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. In 1911 the Legal and Economic Society was founded by [..] Thomas Kettle; Arthur Cox [..] and Nationalist MP, J.G. Swift McNeill [..] In late February 2014, on the back of the inaugural Thinking Big conference in November 2013, the society was reborn [..] In April 2014 the society [was] again recognised as an official UCD society
  3. ^ "Thinking Big". Archived from the original on 8 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Thinking Big". yellow.place.
  5. ^ "How can we think differently about global challenges facing Ireland?". thejournal.ie. 11 November 2013.
  6. ^ "It is Time to Think Big UCD". Campus.ie. Archived from the original on 20 November 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  7. ^ "UCD hosts Thinking Big 2014 forum". University Observer. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Minister Harris addresses UCD Economics Society on Budget 2015". simonharris.ie. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  9. ^ "Central Bank to introduce mortgage cap rules". RTE.ie. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  10. ^ "The UCD Economics Society Presents David McWilliams with the Thomas Kettle Award - UCD Societies". UCD Societies. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  11. ^ "UCD Economics Society - UCD Student Societies - UCD Dublin". UCD Societies. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Economist Morgan Kelly in talks with Central Bank over SME risk". Independent.ie. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz awarded honorary life membership of UCD Economics Society". ucd.ie (Press release). 20 April 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  14. ^ "From the Armistice to the Berkeley tragedy: Commemorating the UCD community". universityobserver.ie. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2023.