“freakonomics” author confirmed for dubai
Leading economist Steven Levitt will deliver DIFC Lecture on
November 17, the opening day of DIFCweek
Steven Levitt, the best-selling author of Freakonomics, has been chosen to give the inaugural DIFCweek LECTURE, on Saturday November 17, 2007. The lecture will be held on the opening day of DIFCweek.
Levitt, who has been called “the most brilliant mind of his generation”, will be speaking in the Middle East for the first time. He will present his theories on economics and its knock-on effect on society. For example, he uses economic data to predict whether teachers are cheating on behalf of their students, or to uncover parenting skills.
DIFCweek, the first event of its kind in the Middle East, will focus on Financial Opportunities for the Third Millennium. The week of conferences will address every principal topic in the international financial arena. As well as Levitt’s DIFC Lecture, other headline events include the first-ever FT/DIFC World Exchange Centres Summit, November 19 – 20.
Levitt, who was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 People Who Shape Our World, has smashed the barriers between the academic and corporate world thanks to his groundbreaking theories of the effect that economics plays in shaping society.
He wants to change the way we view the modern world and says: “I'd like to put together a set of tools that lets us catch terrorists; spot tax evasion and money-laundering. Given the right data, I have little doubt that I could figure out the answer."
A former Tour de France champion called him to ask his help in proving that the current Tour is rife with doping; the Central Intelligence Agency wanted to know how Levitt might use data to catch terrorists.
A full professor in the University of Chicago's economics department (he received tenure after only two years) and recipient of the American Economic Association’s prestigious John Bates Clark Medal (given to the country's best economist under 40), what interests Levitt most is using economic tools to make sense of the real world, and the problems facing society.
Delegates booking before July 15 will meet Levitt in person during an exclusive private audience after the lecture.
The event will be offered as a stand-alone event, priced US$ 995 per ticket, or as part of a DIFCweek event pass, with discounts rising according to delegates’ selection of events. For more information, go to www.difcweek.ae.
