Search

The debate on trust, cooperation, and civic engagement in ethnically diverse communities has proliferated rapidly over the last decade. Dozens of studies have been conducted on a variety of countries and levels of analysis, across a range of indicators of social capital, and using divergent operationalizations of diversity. The outcomes of these studies have been almost as varied as their research designs. The time has come to draw up the balance. The conference will focus on the discussion about causal mechanisms linking diversity and social capital.  

What are the impacts of artistic interventions in organizations, how are such initiatives funded and what policy measures are needed to develop the field in Europe? Answers to these questions were generated in the course of the 2-year Creative Clash project, supported by the EU, and will be presented at the closing conference at the Goethe Institute in Brussels. The conference positions artistic interventions as a vehicle emanating from the creative sector to stimulate innovation in all kinds of public and private organizations.

Die experimentelle Methode hat in den letzten Jahren einen wachsenden Einfluss in der Entwicklungsökonomik erworben. Mit ihr lässt sich vor allem die Wirksamkeit ökonomischer Interventionen im Feld überprüfen. Viel verwendet wird die Methode der randomized trials, wie sie aus klinischen Versuchsreihen bekannt ist. Ein gänzlich anderer Ansatz ist die Analyse individueller Präferenzen an der Schnittstelle von Psychologie und experimenteller Ökonomik. Die beiden Herangehensweisen haben sehr ähnliche Zielsetzungen, aber werden verfolgt in fast vollständiger Unabhängigkeit voneinander.

Sarwar Bari (Pattan, Pakistan)

Western perceptions of Pakistan tend to be uniformly negative – corrupt, dysfunctional and dangerous are only a few adjectives that come to mind. For years, Pakistan has been perceived by many observers of global affairs as a stumbling block towards regional and global security and peace. With this dominant biased view, many dimensions of Pakistan’s developments have been overlooked. What actually constitutes Pakistani society and which powers define its politics?

In the next five decades the Australian population pyramid will invert, doubling the ratio of people over 65 to the working age population from 20 percent in 2007 to around 40 percent in 2050. One way to safeguard economic productivity is to raise labour forceparticipation. This could be achieved by extending employment past the current retirement age and further engaging mothers. Australian mothers’ participation is low, and the majority of employed mothers work part-time (similar to the situation in Germany).