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Monday Talks > 2016 Winter/Spring
Monday 11 January 2016 (7 to 8 pm - Open to all)

Speaker: Dr. Marwan Iskandar
Subject: The Invisible Hand and Consequences of Invisible Neglect
Language: English

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The pioneers of modern economic thinking like Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill considered that an invisible hand, which guarantees the best result, guides the order of free markets. Successive crises as of 1907culminating in the international financial and economic crisis of 2007/2008 disprove that theory.

In Lebanon, the implicit endorsement of the invisible hand by politicians who exhaust their time and ours in politicking is the cause of deterioration in the provision of modern amenities such as water, electricity, public cleanliness, easy movement, modern telecommunications, etc. The final result is loss of attraction of Beirut as a centre of living, increased costs for water, electricity, transportation and communications.

And Eventually, erosion of real estate values, which cause evaporation of billions of dollars from the savings of Lebanese nationals.

Dr. Marwan Iskandar:
Dr. Iskandar is an AUB Alumnus and has more than 50 years’ experience as an economist and a consultant to numerous international companies and governments. He holds a B.A. and an M.A. from A.U.B., a law degree from the Lebanese University and a Ph.D. from Oxford, and has written 13 books on subjects as diverse as the Lebanese economy, Middle Eastern politics as well as a novel. He is a regular contributor to Ah Nahar newspaper and has appeared numerous times in international media, including the BBC and CNN. He undertook the initial feasibility study for the reconstruction of Beirut city centre after the 1975 – 1990 civil war.





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