For the second session of our 2017 ‘China’s Grand Strategy’ lecture series, we had the honor of Professor Andrew Walter's visit (from Melbourne University) who spoke about the ‘Banking crises, financial stabilization, and politics: A long run analysis’. Professor Walter - perfectly in command of his subject field as well as an impressively skilled speaker - shared a great deal of insight in his concise yet comprehensive lecture. The lecture was greatly appreciated by both, students with and without economics background, thanks to Professor Walter's unique way of presenting complicated economic matters without too much of a heavy economic jargon. Despite the title ‘[...] long run analysis’ Professor Walter maneuvered his way efficiently through his lecture making sure to capture the attention of his mostly millennial audience.
A key theme of this lecture was the transition around the 1970’s where political bodies became (and are still becoming) increasingly held accountable for financial crises by its voters. This is in part due to the global trend of a growing middle class who hold their governments responsible for their overall financial situation. However, Professor Walter interestingly points out that it is the same middle class that pressure governments to provide bailouts, who then get angry when governments actually do bail out large enterprises and financial institutions.
After finishing his lecture Professor Walter took part in a stimulating discussion based on a great variety of questions from his audience. With many additional insightful and comprehensive examples from around the world, he illustrated many of his lecture's key points. The students of the Contemporary China Studies Program at Renmin University thank Professor Walter for his valuable addition to his year's 'China's Grand Strategy' lecture series.
