We are living through an age of overlapping crises across the economy, democracy, health, the environment and more, with severe consequences for all areas of social reproduction. During this public lecture, Prof. Saad Filho will examine the challenges of these crises to developing countries, to the prospects for development, and the lessons for development studies, in the light of the foundational contributions of Dudley Seers. Since then, the field of development has been transformed by the worldwide transition to neoliberalism, the rise of financialisation, the economic slowdown in the advanced economies, the rise of China, the diffusion and degradation of neoliberal democracy, the tragic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and by the catastrophic implications of the environmental crisis. Examination of the problems of development must not only address these challenges but, also, search for alternatives and seek to inspire new generations of students, practitioners and activists in the Global North and, most importantly, in the Global South. 

Alfredo Saad-Filho is Professor of Political Economy and International Development at King’s College London. Previously, he was Professor of Political Economy at SOAS University of London, and Senior Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Alfredo has degrees in Economics from the Universities of Brasília (Brazil) and London (SOAS), and has taught in universities and research institutions in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mozambique, Switzerland and the UK. His interests include the political economy of development, industrial policy, neoliberalism, democracy, alternative economic policies and climate adaptation, Latin American political and economic development, inflation and stabilisation, and the labour theory of value and its applications. 

Welcome words: Dr. Alexandre Abreu Assistant Professor, ISEG/CEsA

Moderation: Professor Iliana Olivié, Real Instituto Elcano